[1] : The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03)

electronic mail address
     
         usually "e-mail address", rarely "e-dress",
        "e-ddress" the string used to specify the source or
        destination of an electronic mail message.
        e.g. "john@doc.acme.ac.uk".
     
        the rfc 822 standard is probably the most widely used on the
        internet though x.400 is also in use in europe and canada.
        uucp-style bang path addresses or other kinds of source
        route became virtually extinct in the 1990s.
     
        in the example above, "john" is the local part which is the
        name of a mailbox on the destination computer.  if the
        sender and recipient use the same computer, or the same lan,
        for electronic mail then the local part is usually all that is
        required.
     
        if they use different computers, e.g. they work at different
        companies or use different internet service providers, then
        the "host part", e.g. "sales.acme.com" must be appended after
        an "@".  this usually takes the form of a fully qualified
        domain name or, within a large organisation, it may be just
        the hostname part, e.g. "sales".  the destination computer
        named by the host part is often a server of some kind rather
        than an individual's workstation or pc.  the user's mail
        is stored on the server and read later via client mail
        software running on the user's computer.
     
        large organisations, such as universities will often set up a
        global alias directory which maps a simple user name such as
        "jsmith" to an address which contains more information such as
        "jsmith@london.bigcomp.co.uk".  this hides the detailed
        knowledge of where the message will be delivered from the
        sender, making it much easier to redirect mail if a user
        leaves or moves to a different computer for example.
     
        1996-10-22
     
     
see also:
electronic mail rfc 822 internet x.400 uucp bang path 
source route local part mailbox lan internet service providers 
fully qualified domain name hostname server workstation pc 
client alias 

Electronic Mail >> E Words
Electronic Mail, definition of term: Electronic Mail
electronic+mail_pag1.html

Electronic >> E Words
Electronic, definition of term: Electronic
electronic_pag1.html

Address >> A Words
Address, definition of term: Address
address_pag1.html

Electronic Data >> E Words
Electronic Data, definition of term: Electronic Data
electronic+data_pag1.html

Electronic Dict >> E Words
Electronic Dict, definition of term: Electronic Dict
electronic+dict_pag1.html

Electronic Text >> E Words
Electronic Text, definition of term: Electronic Text
electronic+text_pag1.html

Electronic Coun >> E Words
Electronic Coun, definition of term: Electronic Coun
electronic+coun_pag1.html

Electronic Devi >> E Words
Electronic Devi, definition of term: Electronic Devi
electronic+devi_pag1.html

Electronic Bull >> E Words
Electronic Bull, definition of term: Electronic Bull
electronic+bull_pag1.html

Electronic Comm >> E Words
Electronic Comm, definition of term: Electronic Comm
electronic+comm_pag1.html

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