Electronic Mail (E-mail)

By the time ARPAnet had expanded its connections in 1972, there were two main ways to transfer information electronically over the network. The first, Electronic Mail, or E-Mail, was developed to send small text files between individual users.

There are two basic parts to e-mail. The first is called the Control Information, or more commonly refered to as the Header, which contains the sender and reciever information, similar to a traditional mailing envelope with completed postmark. The second is called the Content which is the actual message text.