E-mail addresses are usually in the form of user name@ host name.location name.domain type . The user name, or user ID, is typically your name or a variation of it. For example, the user name is 'msmith' for Matt Smith. The user is followed immediately by the @ symbol. The next component after the @ symbol, is the name of the host computer that administers your e-mail. However, in some addresses the host name is not stated. In the earlier example, the host name is 'romeo.' The third part is the name of the location to which the e-mail host computer is assigned. This is normally a company, university, or government name. If the location name in the example is Michigan State, then the host name is separated from the location name, by a period, referred to as a dot. Therefore, it would be 'romeo.state' . Finally, the domain type is the kind of entity that owns the location. It is always three letters, except when using a foreign address, when it is two letters, representing the country the address originated from. Since the host name in the example is part of a university, the domain is 'edu' . So the full address is 'msmith@romeo.state.edu' . Generally addresses are not case sensitive, but must be entered exactly as they are given to you. For more information on e-mail addresses, please contact your local Internet service provider.
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