Email:

Person-to-Person Online

 Getting an Email Account

The first thing you need in order to send an email message is an email account. This account will provide you with:

• An email address
• A mailbox to hold messages sent to you
• The ability to take the messages you send out and deliver them to the mailbox of the person you wish to contact

There are several ways to obtain an email account.

• If you have signed up with an Internet provider, you will most likely have an account with them.
• You can have an account from your workplace. This account might have limitations put on it, for example you might only be able to email people within your workplace.
• You can setup a free email account from many providers who have websites on the Internet. To use the free email account you would have to first have access to the Internet, from a public library computer for example, in order to use your account.

Once you setup an email account you will then have an email address. You address will contain:

• your user name
• the @ symbol
• the address of your email account provide

For example:

jjones@hotmail.com.

Your email account provider will give you or ask you for a user name. This is the name that will identify you in your email address but it doesn't necessarily have to be your real name. It is the name you will go by when you are on the Internet.

You will also have a password that will allow only you to access your account and prevent others from reading or sending mail from your account. This password is either given to you by your email provider or it is a password you have made up. It is important that your prevent others from getting into your email account to prevent them from sending out messages in your user name.

Here are some links to information on where to get an email account:

Email Providers	Pronto Mail
Free Email Providers	Hot Mail
Tripod Free Providers	Rocket Mail
Guide to Free Email Providers	Juno

This list is provided as a guide and does not reflect an endorsement of any particular email provider.