Alan's HINTS & TIPS - Sending e-mail - how does it get there?

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SENDING EMAIL - How does it get there?

This is the SHORT version - or you can view the NOT SO SHORT version for a bit more detail.
What actually happens when you send your e-mail from the computer? Well, in a not too technical way I'll tell you.

When you want to send an e-mail (or connect to the Internet) your dial-up requester comes on the screen and you request it to "Connect". When this happens it tells the computer to dial up the telephone number for your ISP (Internet Service Provider).

On some computers you can hear the modem sounds as it dials the ISP's number and the first handshaking tones, after which the sound is muted to avoid you being driven mad by them.

When the ISP answers the phone it detects the signals being sent by your computer and the computers do a bit of "hand-shaking" - checking each other out - your user name and password is then checked to verify you are one of their customers. Once this is complete the ISP processes the information you are sending - in this case an e-mail.

Your ISP collects your e-mail then checks to see if there are any new e-mail messages for you. If there are they are sent to you by the same process and in many cases your computer is set to disconnect from the ISP when you have cleared you mail.

The ISP then sets about the process of delivering your message/s to the appropriate location - the ISP of your friend or other recipient.

The wonderful world of the Internet keeps track of all the other ISP and each country has their own specific Internet identity. Once your ISP checks your e-mail it goes off to the correct country and from there to the ISP whose address is on the e-mail.

When your friend or other recipient checks at their ISP for their e-mail your message is delivered to them in the same manner as it was sent from you to your own ISP. Generally this all happens in less time than it takes for you to get to your door when someone rings the door bell. Pretty smart eh?