BCPL Email Setup and Information

What is Email?

In its simplest form, email is an electronic message sent from one computer to another. You can send or receive messages with attachments, such as pictures or formatted documents. You can even send music and computer programs.

Just as a letter makes stops at different post offices along its way, e-mail passes from one computer, known as a mail server, to another as it travels over the Internet. Once it arrives at the destination mail server, it is stored in an electronic mailbox until the recipient retrieves it. This whole process usually takes minutes or even seconds, allowing you to quickly communicate with people around the world at any time of the day.

To receive e-mail, you must have an account on a mail server. This is similar to having an address where you receive letters. One advantage over regular mail is that you can retrieve your e-mail from any location. Once you connect to the mail server, you use an email client to retrieve your email.

To send e-mail, you need a connection to the Internet and access to a mail server that forwards your mail. The standard protocol used for sending Internet e-mail is called SMTP, short for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol.

When you send an e-mail message, your computer routes it to an SMTP server. The server looks at the e-mail address (similar to the address on an envelope), then forwards it to the recipient's mail server, which stores it until the recipient retrieves it. You can send e-mail anywhere in the world to anyone who has an e-mail address.

Accessing Your BCPL.NET Email Account

1. Download the email to your computer using a POP email program, such as Outlook Express ( usually bundled with Internet Explorer) or Netscape. This is the most common way for users to access their email.
2. Access your email through WebMail. WebMail is a way of getting your email from anywhere iin the world, through a website. For more information on using WebMail, click here.

• Email address - Your email address is the name of your virtual mail box. The first part, before the @ symbol, is your usename. The second part, after the @ symbol, is the name of the mail server on which your mail box is located.
• Outgoing (SMTP) mail server - The SMTP mail server is the server that allows you to send email over the Internet. For BCPL.NET, the mail server is mail.bcpl.net. If you are using a different ISP to connect to the Internet, contact that ISP to find out what outgoing email server they use.
• Incoming (POP3) mail server - This is the server that retrieves your email from the mail box so the messages can be downloaded to your computer. The incoming mail server for BCPL.NET is also mail.bcpl.net.
• Username - This is the name you use to connect to the Internet with BCPL. It is also the first part of your email address.
• Password - This is the set of characters used to confirm you are who you say you are. Your password was sent to you with the welcome packet you received when you established an account with BCPL.NET and is the same as the password you use to login. If you have lost or forgotten your password, contact the Accounts Desk (410-887-4172 or ) to have your password sent to you via postal mail.

For information on setting up a specific email program to access your BCPL email, click on the name of your email program at the top of this page.