An email is an electronic message, similar to a letter that is sent from one machine to another. Email is an abbreviation of the phrase electronic mail. An email can be sent to an individual user or to multiple users as a broadcast. Email content is inputted with a text editor, after the email is sent it is stored in an electronic mailbox until it is collected by the recipient. Most ISP (Internet Service Providers) supply email addresses and gateways to allow for worldwide communication. Originally email was a text only (ASCII) communications. Nowadays email can feature attachments such as pictures, documents and videos.

Early email systems simply left a text document in a designated folder on the mainfarme computer. The MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) created the first email program in 1965. It simply sent messages through a single mainframe. Email as we know it with a ‘@’ symbol was created by Ray Tomlinson an ARPANET engineer. He developed a system that could relay copies of messages between computer systems. In 1993 email systems became part of services offered by large ISPs. Delphi the creator of possibly the world’s first forum was one of these companies.