Module 2: Email Tasks

For this email task we were required to undertake an email tutorial to ensure that we understood all the basic tools of emailing. We then had to answer the following reflective questions:


1. What information about a user's email, the origin of a message, and the path it took, can you glean from an email message?

From an email message we can see who sent the email and where it has come from by simply looking at the email address. An email address consists of a username and domain name ("username@domain"). We can identify the person's name or nickname by looking at the username and the domain name shows where the message is from. For example, if the domain is yahoo.com.au then it is an email supplied by Yahoo in Australia.

The last few letters at the end of an email address helps identify the location or what type of organization it is, for example, .org = organization, .gov = government, .edu = education, .au = Australia, .nz = New Zealand and etc.

Furthermore, we can also see what path the email has taken by looking at the title. Whether it is a reply from a previous message, or a message that has been forwarded to many people.

By looking at an email address we can find out all these informations. It is simple and easy to understand.


2. In what cases would you find it useful to use the 'cc', 'bcc' and 'reply all' functions of email?

CC: This stands for 'Carbon Copy' and it is useful when sending a copy of the same email to someone. It is used to indicate that the email is mainly for the person in the 'To' box, however the 'cc' people may also want to read the email as well.
For example, you send an email to a client and then 'cc' to your boss to show that you have completed the job.

BCC: This stands for 'Blind Carbon Copy' and it is quite similar to the 'cc' function except that the 'bcc' function is discreet. When using 'bcc', the recipient is unaware that other people have received the same email message. This can be useful when you want to secretly send information to a person without the recipient knowing.
For example, you receive threats from an evil person so you 'bcc' the information to the police.

REPLY ALL: This function can be very useful when in need of replying to a number of people with the same message. This saves the time and hassle of typing all the email addresses and it is an efficient way of emailing. When using the 'reply all' function, it replies the same message to everyone that is listed in the email.


3. In what ways can you ensure that an attachment you send will be easily opened by the receiver?

It is important to make sure that the recipient can open the file before sending an attachment. It would be useless if you sent a file that can not be opened. For example, if the file is a word document, the recipient will need a compatible program to open and view it.
If unsure whether the recipient has a compatible program, then sending documents as plain text (ASCII) or as a format that can be viewed by many applications such as Rich Text File (RTF) are another option. File names and file compression should also be taken into account when sending an attachment.


4. What sorts of filters or rules do you have set up, and for what purpose?

The only filter I have currently set up is for spam mail to be received in the Spam Email section. This is a great tool since it separates my email from useless spam mail. Other than that, I do not have any other filters or rules set up.


5. How have you organised the folder structure of your email and why?

The folder structure of my email has been organised into 3 sections - Personal, Business #1 and Business #2. By organizing my emails into different folders helps me from being confused and also allows me to search and find emails that I need to read again quite easily. Without such structuring, all the emails would be mixed up and it would be very frustrating and confusing. Organizing emails into their allocated sections makes everything neat and easy to view.