Internet > Email > How Email works >

Email Client Protocols

There was some general discussion of the impact of personal computers on mail services. The main realization being that the personal computer will not be available to handle incoming mail all the time. Probably, personal computer users will have their mailboxes on some big brother computer (which may be dedicated to mailbox service, or be a general purpose host) and poll for their mail when they want to read it.

- Jon Postel; Summary Of Computer Mail Services Meeting Held At BBN On 10 January 1979; RFC 808; 1 March 1982.


Your email client application communicates with an email server over the Internet to login, get mail status, and send and receive email. The most common client connection protocols are described in the following sections:
 
 Help 
 People 
 About 

Living Internet content is (c) Copyright William Stewart
__