Messages, usually text, sent from one person to another via computer. E-mail can also be sent automatically to a large number of addresses. See also: Listserv ®, SMTP www.matisse.net/files/glossary.html

A way of sending messages electronically from one computer to another, generally through a modem and telephone line connected to a computer. www.ed.gov/pubs/parents/internet/glossary.html

A method of electronically passing messages from one computer user to another, typically over computer networks. www.conxion.com/technology/glossary.asp

Standard {hacker} terminology for electronic mail, i.e., messages that are sent by computer network. (Compare {snail mail}.) Email is a much appreciated and indispensable tool of persons whose work attaches them to the Internet, especially computer professionals. Email can be dealt with according to the receiver's own schedule. That could mean immediately, resulting in turnaround times of just a minute or so. But it allows the receiver to prioritize messages. In comparison the telephone is a rude device that interrupts you and demands immediate attention, no matter what you are doing. Another advantage is that when email is saved, it leaves a written record of exchanges that can be built into a substantial information database. That I often receive and send over 200 email messages a day, but only two or three phone calls, usually from my wife, is strong evidence that busy computer workers greatly prefer email to the telephone for most lower priority communications. bookshelf.info/wordlists/e/eec/www/=E.html