Let an agent explain email and how it works, relay standards, security and etiquette, describe variants such as certified email and threats such as spam and phishing in general terms, and distinguish email from messaging apps and postal mail.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
written by Claude from model knowledge without web access - no source was read, every claim is a lead to verify
Researched by: Claude
Purpose and description
Let an agent explain email and how it works, relay standards, security and etiquette, describe variants such as certified email and threats such as spam and phishing in general terms, and distinguish email from messaging apps and postal mail.
A method of exchanging messages between people using electronic devices over networks, defined by standards such as SMTP, IMAP and MIME, in which messages with headers, body and attachments are sent to addresses and stored in mailboxes, and including variants such as certified email with legal proof of delivery, institutional addresses such as educational email, and abuses such as spam and malicious email used for phishing; email remains the main formal digital correspondence channel and a major security attack vector.
What it is for: Exchanging messages electronically.
It can be explain how email works; relay standards and security; describe variants and threats; distinguish from messaging.
Distinguishing features
Open standards
Asynchronous
Address-based
Security challenges
What it looks like
Not a physical object; messages in an inbox with sender, subject and body.
Physical character
emails sent per day: over 300 billion count - industry estimates
share that is spam: about 45 percent - estimates vary
How it is recognised
Store-and-forward electronic messaging
SMTP, IMAP, webmail, certified email, spam, phishing
Instant messaging is real-time chat; postal mail is physical; fax transmits documents
Related models
is a kind of - in registry terms
is a kind of - in registry terms
is a kind of - in registry terms, as electronic correspondence
is defined by - and related standards
In practice
Families and kinds
personal and business email
webmail and client-based email
institutional email such as educational addresses
certified and registered email systems
email spam
malicious email such as phishing and malware delivery
mailing lists and newsletters
Identifiers
RFC 5321 SMTP
RFC 5322 Internet Message Format
Standards and regulation
IETF email standards including SMTP, IMAP, MIME, SPF, DKIM and DMARC
Anti-spam laws such as CAN-SPAM and the EU ePrivacy rules
Data protection and retention rules
Legal frameworks for certified email such as Italian PEC
Failure modes and hazards
Phishing and malware
Spam
Spoofing and lack of encryption by default
Agents assisting malicious email
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Also registered as vr.tr.email
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions.
Understand How email works.
Definition.
Definition
Definition and mechanics.
Definition
Definition.
- What is email, and how do addresses, servers, protocols and clients work together? definition
- Is the question about email, instant messaging or another channel? boundary
Variants
Variants.
Variants
Variants.
- What are certified email, institutional email and mailing lists? definition
- Which entry fits the specific variant? action
Secure Security.
Regulation.
Threats
Threats.
Threats
Threats.
- What are spam, phishing and malicious email, and how can people recognise them, in general terms? provenance
- Is the user seeking to send deceptive or bulk unsolicited email, which the model refuses? boundary
Protection
Protection.
Protection
Protection.
- How do SPF, DKIM, DMARC, encryption and filtering protect email? provenance
- Which references are standard? provenance
Use Use and etiquette.
Practice.
Etiquette
Etiquette.
Etiquette
Etiquette.
- What conventions govern professional email writing and management? provenance
- Which entry fits business communication? action
Law
Law.
Law
Law.
- What laws govern marketing email, retention and legal status of email, in general terms? provenance
- Which sources are cited? provenance
Context History and future.
Context.
History
History.
History
History.
- How did email develop from ARPANET to webmail? provenance
- Which entry fits the history of the internet? action
Future
Trends.
Future
Future.
- How are messaging apps, AI filtering and new standards changing email, as reported? provenance
- Which entry fits instant messaging? action
What the second pass must settle
- Should email spam and phishing be separate primary entries?
- How should standards be linked?
- The registry entry has merged aliases naming variants and abuses; should they be split off?