Email

Electronic mail (email) is a worldwide digital communication system for exchanging written messages among computers using the Internet. [Page 334]Often dubbed the first “killer app” of the Internet due to its widespread adoption, it has proved to be a fundamental and enduring global form of connectivity for commercial, political, personal, and social purposes. Beyond its role in mass communication, the email address itself figures as a core method for establishing proof of identity online to sign up for many Internet-based services, including government agencies, telecommunication providers, social media, online shopping, and news and entertainment portals.

One of the great attractions of email is its vendor-neutral accessibility: As long as one has an email address, one can be in contact with anyone else with an address. This ...