Introduction to E-mail

Ramsey County Library

Maplewood Library3025 Southlawn DriveMaplewood, MN 55109

651-704-2033

Mounds View Library2576 County Hwy. 10

Mounds View, MN 55112763-717-3272

New Brighton Library400 10th Street NW

New Brighton, MN 55122651-724-6002

North St. Paul Library2300 North St. Paul DriveNorth St. Paul, MN 55109

651-747-2700

Roseville Library2180 Hamline Ave NRoseville, MN 55113

651-628-6803

Shoreview Library4570 N. Victoria StreetShoreview, MN 55126

651-486-2300

White Bear Lake Library4698 Clark Avenue

White Bear Lake, MN 55110651-407-5302

www.rclreads.org

How to sign up for a free E-mail accountThere are many providers of free e-mail (electronic mail). We teach only Yahoo! e-mail because it’s easy to use. Most other providers of free e-mail have a similar sign up procedure. E-mail allows you to send and receive paperless messages. Electronic pictures, documents, and programs may also be e-mailed, although not from the library’s computers. All that is needed is an e-mail address for both sender and recipient. An e-mail address consists of a user ID or logon, the @ symbol, and the name of the ISP (Internet Service Provider) or e-mail service plus a domain name. The e-mail account we use for these practice sessions is:

ramseylib@yahoo.com(Ramsey County Library at the Yahoo! e-mail service in the Commercial domain)

E-mail Cautions

Spam – Electronic junk, or unsolicited, mail. Because the Internet is public, there is little that can be done to prevent spam, just as it is impossible to prevent junk mail. Spammers use software programs that troll the Internet looking for e-mail addresses. Today, it is almost impossible to shop online without providing a valid e-mail address. Merchants are opening the door for a flood of unsolicited e-mails. They may sell their list of online clients to someone looking for valid e-mail addresses. Most e-mail providers (including Yahoo) provide spam filters to help manage unsolicited e-mails.

Phishing – A term coined by hackers who imitate legitimate companies in e-mails to entice people to share passwords and bank account or credit card numbers. Never respond to requests for passwords or account numbers!

Virus – A program that is loaded onto your computer without your knowledge and runs against your wishes. Even a simple virus can quickly use all of your computer’s memory and bring the system to a halt. Most viruses are transmitted by e-mail in the form of attachments. Never open attachments from senders you don’t recognize. Anti-virus software can be periodically run on your computer to check your system for new viruses.

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Setting up an Account

Yahoo provides one of many web-based FREE e-mail accounts. These accounts are provided free because they come with advertising for the website and its sponsors. Once you have an e-mail account you can send and receive e-mail from any computer with access to the Internet.

To sign up for a Yahoo account:

1. Go to www.yahoo.com2. Click on Yahoo! Mail on the left of the page.3. Look for Don’t Have a Yahoo! ID? on the right side of the screen. 4. Click on SIGN UP. 5. You will need to provide the following information:

Once you have a valid ID and password, be sure to write it down on the blanks below so that you have it next time you wish to check your e-mail.

Yahoo ID: _______________________________________Password: _______________________________________

Knowing your birthday let’s Yahoo! Help you reset your password if you ever forget it.

Your postal code let’s Yahoo provide you with content that is relevant to where you live and help you reset your password if you ever forget it.

If the ID you want is not available, try adding a number to make it unique.

For an ID use 4 to 32 characters and start with a letter. You may use letters, numbers, underscores, and one dot (.).

Your password does not have to be unique but capitalization matters. Use 6 to 32 characters, no spaces, and don’t use your name or Yahoo ID.

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Welcome to Yahoo E-mail!

When you have successfully registered for an e-mail account you will see a welcome screen with your new Yahoo! e-mail ID and address displayed. Be sure to write this down so that you have it next time you wish to check your e-mail.

A message will be sent to this email in case you forget your password or ID. It is not necessary to provide an alternate Email address.

By entering this code you help Yahoo prevent spam and fake registrations. This code can be typed in all lowercase

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Your Inbox

The main Yahoo! e-mail page is the first screen you will see when you sign in to your e-mail account from now on. Notice that you have mail! This is an automated welcoming message from the Yahoo! mail program.

Reading an To open an e-mail message in your inbox, click on the text of the subject of the E-mail message (under the column “Subject”). The message will open.Message

Deleting an You can delete a message by highlighting the message or clicking in the check Email box, and then clicking on the “Delete” button either above or below the message.Message

Replying to a To respond to a message, click on the “Reply” button. The form for composing a Message message will appear. The address will already be filled in. Compose a message

and click on the “Send” button to send it.

This is the page you will see when you log into your Yahoo mail account

Click your inbox to read mail.

To open and read an e-mail message in your inbox, click the text of the subject of the message.

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Composing E-mail

When you are writing an e-mail, you are writing a letter so many of the rules of etiquette for letter writing apply to e-mail. In addition, rules of netiquette (net etiquette or Internet etiquette) apply:

1. Write a descriptive subject line.2. Be concise and to the point (unless, of course, this is a personal letter to a

friend).3. Read your e-mail before you send it.4. Use proper capitalization. Typing in all capital letters is considered

shouting in the online world.5. Make sure you spell everything correctly, especially the address of the

recipient. If their address is misspelled, your e-mail won’t be delivered.

Click the “Compose Message” button to type an email.

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Sending an E-mail

Practice sending an e-mail by clicking on the “New” button, located in the upper left portion of the screen. On the compose screen you will find a form to fill in.

To: Fill in the e-mail address of the person to whom you are sending the message. If you are sending the message to more than one person, separate the addresses with a comma. For practice purposes, you may send an e-mail to us at

ramseylib@yahoo.com

and we’ll respond so that you are able to practice opening your e-mail.

Subject: Including a short phrase that describes your e-mail is always a good idea and is also polite.

The big empty box is where you type your message. Put your cursor anywhere in this field, click and start typing. When you are finished, review it and then click on the Send button, located at the top above the TO: field.

Fill in the e-mail address of the person you are sending in the To: field. Remember, there are no spaces in an email address. In the subject field include a

brief phrase that describes your e-mail.

When you are finished composing your message, click the ‘Send’ button to send your mail.

Type your message in the big empty box.

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Checking E-mail

You may check your e-mail from any computer that is connected to the internet by typing www.yahoo.com in the address line and clicking on the Mail icon. Type your Yahoo! ID and password in the appropriate boxes to access your e-mail account. When you type your password, you will see only asterisks, so type carefully. Then click on “Sign in.” The next screen will tell you if you have any new messages in your inbox. Click on “Inbox” to read your messages.

To check your E-mail, you must first go to Yahoo’s website. Type www.yahoo.com in the address line

From The Yahoo! Website, click the “Yahoo! Mail” icon to sign into your Yahoo! email account

Type in your Yahoo! ID and password. When you type your password, you will see only asterisks, so type carefully. Then click on “Sign in.”

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Explore the Help link found at the top left of the screen to learn how to make full use of your Yahoo! e-mail account. You may now read, write and send e-mail using your free Yahoo! e-mail account! Remember to always sign out when you are finished.

The Sign Out link can usually be found at the very top of the screen.

Other Free E-mail Sites

FastMail Free Guest Account (www.fastmail.fm)

Google Gmail (www.gmail.com)

MSN Hotmail (www.hotmail.com)

Mail.com (www.mail.com)

Lycos Mail (www.lycos.com)

A list of free e-mail providers worldwide is available at http://www.fepg.net/webbased.html

Remember to sign out when you are finished.

Explore the Help and tutorials link to learn how to make full use of your account

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