A mailbox (メールボックス) is the inbox on a mail server where delivered email is kept for each user.
Sender
Sending server
Recipient's mailbox
Recipient
The recipient connects whenever convenient and reads it.
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Mail does not go straight to the recipient's device; it first enters a storage area on the recipient's mail server. The recipient can connect and read it at any convenient time, so sending and receiving need not happen at once. Reading and writing that storage area from a browser is called webmail (Web メール).
AnalogyThink of a parcel locker in an apartment building. It holds packages while you are out, and you collect them when you get home.
Exam points
ExamWith a forwarding feature (転送機能), however many addresses you have, all their mail can end up in one mailbox (メールボックス).
ExamSMTP is the procedure for sending mail and POP3 the one for retrieving it from a mailbox, not the other way round.
ExamWebmail (Web メール) needs only a browser, with no dedicated mail software and nothing saved to the device.
Broadcast mail (同報メール) means delivering one message with the same content to several people at once.
Mail has three address fields: To for the main people, cc for those copied for reference, and bcc for those hidden from other recipients; listing several addresses in them makes a broadcast. Who goes in which field decides what recipients can see about each other.
How to rememberRead the kanji of 同報 as "same notice" and the meaning comes back from the characters alone.
Exam points
ExamFor a broadcast (同報) where recipients must not learn each other's addresses, put everyone in bcc and nowhere else. Add them to To as well and the addresses show from there.
ExamWhen people already know one another's addresses, listing them together in To reveals no new addresses.
A mailing list (メーリングリスト) is a mechanism that delivers mail sent to one shared address to everyone registered.
Sender
Shared address
Registered roster
All registered members
Everyone on the roster gets the same content.
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The roster is kept on the mailing list's side, so a sender can reach everyone without knowing a single individual address. Adding or removing a member takes nothing more than editing the roster.
AnalogyLike telling an organizer once and having them pass the same notice to everyone on the roster.
How to rememberThe "list" in the name is the roster, so the name itself states what the mechanism is built on.
Exam points
ExamSend to one shared address (代表アドレス) and the same mail reaches everyone registered under it.
ExamA delivered message does not list every registered member's address among its recipients.
cc (carbon copy) is the address field for people you want to keep informed, and all recipients can see those addresses.
To is for the people the matter directly concerns, while cc is for those you would like to look it over for reference. Addresses in cc go into the message's address information, so recipients can tell who else was copied.
AnalogyLike circulating a report with "FYI: section manager" on the distribution line. Everyone can see who got it.
How to rememberShort for carbon copy, from the old office practice of making a duplicate with carbon paper and handing it to someone else.
Exam points
ExamPeople in To and people in cc can see each other's addresses.
ExamListing people who do not know each other's addresses together in cc exposes those addresses, which is a problem for personal information protection (個人情報保護).
Mix-upAmong people copied for reference, use cc for those others may know about and bcc for those they should not.
bcc (blind carbon copy) is the address field for adding people without telling the other recipients, and those addresses never reach anyone in To or cc.
Recipient's field
People in To
People in cc
People in bcc
To
Visible
Visible
Hidden
cc
Visible
Visible
Hidden
bcc
Visible
Visible
Other bcc recipients hidden
People who receive a message through To or cc cannot tell that anyone is in bcc. It is a common way to keep addresses from getting out when mailing a large group of people who do not know each other's addresses.
AnalogyLike quietly passing a copy of a circulated document to one more person without telling the others.
How to rememberThe b stands for blind: read it as a cc kept out of the other recipients' sight.
Exam points
ExamBeing in bcc changes nothing about the body or attachments that arrive.
ExamSomeone receiving through bcc can see the people in To and cc, but not the other bcc recipients.
ExamWhen someone in cc replies to all, the reply does not reach bcc recipients, because they are not in the address information.
MIME is an extension standard that lets email, once limited to text, carry many kinds of data such as images and audio.
Data to attach
Encode as a string of characters
Combine with the body and send
Restore on the receiving side
The receiving software restores the original data and displays it.
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Data such as an attached file is first encoded as a string of characters, then sent together with the body as one message. Separately, the common body formats are plain text (テキスト形式), which holds characters only, and HTML format (HTML 形式), which allows formatting, and either one can carry attachments.
AnalogyImagine a postal service that carries only envelopes: you fold a piece of cloth to fit inside one, and the receiver unfolds it at the other end.
How to rememberM is Multipurpose and E is Extensions: the name itself says text-only email was widened to many uses.
Exam points
ExamMIME is the standard for carrying non-text data such as attachments (添付ファイル) by email.
ExamSetting text color and size and linking words are things only HTML format (HTML 形式) does. It is also the side where a script (スクリプト) may run when a message is opened.