Short history of email<\/h3>\n\n\n\n![\"Vintage](\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\")
These two ARPANET-connected computers were used to send the first email on the network<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nBasic text and file sharing has existed for about 50 years. In the beginning, it was not reliable though, as different platforms and protocols were incompatible. Things changed in 1971 thanks to Raymond Tomlinson, a programmer working for ARPANET, \u0430 US government network. He introduced the first system that could send a message between different hosts connected to the same network. He introduced the \u2018@\u2019 sign that separated a username from a hostname and he is recognized as the inventor of the modern-day email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1978 marked the birth of unsolicited emails when Gary Thurek sent a spam message to hundreds of ARPANET users. In 1982 sending emails between different mail servers became possible as the Simple Transfer Mail Protocol (SMTP) was invented. The IMAP and POP protocols were created in the following years, giving rise to the first modern-day email clients, like MSMail \u2013 the predecessor of Outlook and Exchange, which was created in 1988.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the 1990s, the first webmail clients appeared, file attachment support was added and WYSIWYG editors were introduced. As more and more people owned a computer and were connected to the Internet, the use of emails increased significantly. It is estimated that there are more than 3.8 billion email addresses today and this is still the preferred communication for billions of people and businesses all around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\nFrom MSMail to RoundCube - webmail and desktop email clients have come a long way for the past 30 years.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n(Standard) Email features<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
An email service essentially allows you to send and receive messages using an email client. The vast majority of email providers add a number of additional services to make using their email service easier and more appealing to users. Below, you will find some of these services. You probably take their availability for granted, but some providers offer only a limited number of these services, while others change separately for them. You will also not find most of these services, if any, in instant messaging platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Filters<\/strong> for automation<\/strong>. If you want to block messages that contain a certain word or move messages from a certain sender to a separate folder, you can easily do that using email filters. Usually there are lots of options and combinations to choose from, which gives you much more flexibility compared to any instant messenger. Filters can be set up either by the email provider, or in an email client. They allow you to automate certain workflows in easy and manageable way.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- Auto-responder<\/strong>. If you are out of the office for some time or you want to let people know that you have received their message, you can use the auto-responder function. Usually, you can select a period or a number of times the auto-respond message should be sent to a given person.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
All our hosting plans come with the powerful SpamAssassin anti-spam platform<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n- Spam protection<\/strong>. This is a service any mailbox needs, since spam has become a very serious problem in the past decade. Some providers offer basic protection, others offer a more advanced protection that recognizes patterns and \u201clearns\u201d how to filter spam more efficiently based on the way you handle certain messages.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- Email forwarding<\/strong>. If you receive a message in one mailbox, you can forward it to another automatically. Surprisingly, this seemingly simple service is sometimes available only if you pay for it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- Catchall mailbox<\/strong>. Any message sent to an email address @your-domain.com that does not exist will end up in this mailbox if such an option is enabled. Even if somebody misspells your email address, you will still receive their message.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Other examples of services that are often optional\/paid are backups and antivirus protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Using emails \u2013 pros and cons<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
If you wonder whether you should start\/continue to use emails nowadays, here are a few things to consider:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pros<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n- Official correspondence<\/strong>. Emails are still considered an official means of communication, so if you want to contact some company or the local authorities, for example, you will have to do that by email, not by commenting on some social media status.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- Can be accessed from anywhere.<\/strong> More or less all email providers offer webmail access, so all you need to check your email is a web browser (desktop or mobile) and Internet access. You can also use any email client like Outlook, Thunderbird, Apple Mail and a number of mobile mail applications.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- Can be accessed at any time<\/strong>. We mention this specifically as some instant messengers will not allow you to use their web-based versions if the mobile application on your phone is not connected. This can greatly limit your communication if your phone stops responding or its battery is depleted, for example.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n- Messages can be threaded<\/strong>. If you don\u2019t want to mix different topics, you can send several messages to the same person, so you can easily keep track of different issues. This will make keyword search easier as well. In comparison, instant messengers allow you to send all messages only as a single continuous conversation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- Easy to personalize<\/strong>. If you want to send a newsletter, you can send a personal message to every customer, not mentioning the different layout options you have to create a visually pleasing message.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\n- Can be integrated with other tools<\/strong>. While emails are a separate service, they can be easily integrated with calendars or to-do lists, for example. If you receive an email with your boarding pass, for instance, some email providers will add the flight information directly to your calendar.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Our Control panel allows you to create and manage mailing lists with ease<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n- Send emails to multiple recipients anonymously<\/strong>. If you create a mailing list, you can easily contact a group of people by sending a single message. You can also send a blind carbon copy of any message to another person. While you can simply create a group in an instant messenger to do the same thing, everybody in the group will know who the other recipients are and it will be more difficult for them to reply to you personally instead of sending a group message.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n
![\"Vintage](\"https:\/\/www.icdsoft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/emails1.jpg\")
Basic text and file sharing has existed for about 50 years. In the beginning, it was not reliable though, as different platforms and protocols were incompatible. Things changed in 1971 thanks to Raymond Tomlinson, a programmer working for ARPANET, \u0430 US government network. He introduced the first system that could send a message between different hosts connected to the same network. He introduced the \u2018@\u2019 sign that separated a username from a hostname and he is recognized as the inventor of the modern-day email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
1978 marked the birth of unsolicited emails when Gary Thurek sent a spam message to hundreds of ARPANET users. In 1982 sending emails between different mail servers became possible as the Simple Transfer Mail Protocol (SMTP) was invented. The IMAP and POP protocols were created in the following years, giving rise to the first modern-day email clients, like MSMail \u2013 the predecessor of Outlook and Exchange, which was created in 1988.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the 1990s, the first webmail clients appeared, file attachment support was added and WYSIWYG editors were introduced. As more and more people owned a computer and were connected to the Internet, the use of emails increased significantly. It is estimated that there are more than 3.8 billion email addresses today and this is still the preferred communication for billions of people and businesses all around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n An email service essentially allows you to send and receive messages using an email client. The vast majority of email providers add a number of additional services to make using their email service easier and more appealing to users. Below, you will find some of these services. You probably take their availability for granted, but some providers offer only a limited number of these services, while others change separately for them. You will also not find most of these services, if any, in instant messaging platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other examples of services that are often optional\/paid are backups and antivirus protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you wonder whether you should start\/continue to use emails nowadays, here are a few things to consider:<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Retro](\"https:\/\/www.icdsoft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/emails2.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"Email](\"https:\/\/www.icdsoft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/emails3-1024x486.png\")
<\/figure>\n(Standard) Email features<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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![\"SpamAssassin](\"https:\/\/www.icdsoft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/emails4-1-1024x312.png\")
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Using emails \u2013 pros and cons<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Pros<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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![\"Email](\"https:\/\/www.icdsoft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/emails6-1.png\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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![\"Mailing](\"https:\/\/www.icdsoft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/emails5-1024x198.png\")
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![\"Email](\"https:\/\/www.icdsoft.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/emails6-1024x554.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n