email

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Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Invented by Ray Tomlinson, email first entered limited use in the 1960s and by the mid-1970s had taken the form now recognized as email. Email operates across computer networks, which today is primarily the Internet. Some early email systems required the author and the recipient to both be online at the same time, in common with instant messaging. Today's email systems are based on a store-and-forward model. Email servers accept, forward, deliver, and store messages. Neither the users nor their computers are required to be online simultaneously; they need to connect only briefly, typically to a mail server or a webmail interface for as long as it takes to send or receive messages or to download it.
Originally an ASCII text-only communications medium, Internet email was extended by Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) to carry text in other character sets and multimedia content attachments. International email, with internationalized email addresses using UTF-8, has been standardized, but as of 2017 it has not been widely adopted.The history of modern Internet email services reaches back to the early ARPANET, with standards for encoding email messages published as early as 1973 (RFC 561). An email message sent in the early 1970s looks very similar to a basic email sent today.

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  1. A

    VIC Understand if mutual agreement in email are legal

    Dear All, I have been pursuing my neighbor to replace the dividing fence between our properties and after many email exchanges, they have agreed to replace the fence. As they have financial problems, and are unable to pay their share, I have agreed to bear the cost of the fence replacement in...
  2. X

    QLD Is it permissible/legally accepted for employee to contact an employer directly by phone or email even if they have hired a lawyer or representation?

    The employer received the information from the company's accountant that one of the employees who spent six months abroad had not used any sick or holiday leave (15 days were documented by a medical certificate provided while abroad). Even while on a medical certificate, and had also voluntarily...
  3. D

    SA Name-calling and Derogatory insinuations in personal email communication

    Hello -- Could there be any civil recourse for a person who insults, puts down, name-calls (eg "liar, deceptive cretin" etc) or insinuates things about a person, if these thing are done through to a personal email? I doubt that defamation or libel could be an issue as there is no-one else...
  4. jwelchnz

    VIC Breach of consumer contract and email agreement

    Good Evening, I need assistance with an issue I have regarding my loan contract with a finance company. I currently have a secured car loan and I have breached the contract. Due to Covid-19 I moved back to NZ and the vehicle I also exported home with me while continuing to make car...
  5. L

    Agree to waive outstanding fee by email, binding or not

    Hi Hold a question regarding if the agreement to waive outstanding fee by email is binding? I owed some outstanding fee to a contractor. Because of Covid impact, I cannot pay all. So I emailed to the contractor asked to pay lesser as the final amount. He agreed and confirmed no outstanding fee...
  6. L

    NSW Agree waive outstanding fee by email, binding or not

    Hi Hold a question regarding if the agreement to waive outstanding fee by email is binding? I owed some outstanding fee to a contractor. Because of Covid impact, I cannot pay all. So I emailed to the contractor asked to pay lesser as the final amount. He agreed and confirmed no outstanding...
  7. M

    VIC Can an industry body forward your personal complaint email to your employer?

    OK, So of course I always get myself in trouble cause of my big mouth! I spoke my mind to an industry body that we pay annual fees to, about a situation they seem to do little to fix. They didn't like my brash, direct "tone" so they replied to me and cc'd my employers in on the email that I sent...
  8. t1dr34

    Emails Sent to Ex-employer - Can I be Sued for Defamation?

    I was let go from a company a few months ago. While working there I experience ongoing bullying, harassment and discrimination which spiralled me into severe depression. I was hesitant about speaking up for the fear of losing my job which inevitably happened anyway due to the ongoing bullying...
  9. D

    VIC Lost phone then emailed by police

    So last night I think I left my phone in a taxi, but I didn’t clue onto this until the morning. I accessed “find my iPhone” and found it was most likely at the police station. Then I checked my email and found there was an email from [Redacted by Moderator - Personal Information] at 2am stating...
  10. Steveh

    QLD Cursing in email

    Is it illegal or a crime to curse at someone in an email? (That someone is the support service employee of an org) (F word)