The River
User's Manual

Appendix C--Mail

As with the text editors, you probably already have some experience with email. Our mail programs are started from the OK or Response prompt. From the prompt, type "mail" to enter the default mail program. It is a very simple program with a lot of help available by typing ":?" flush left on a line by itself. You can also send email by typing "mail gilligan" at the OK or Response prompts. You will automatically be taken to the default editor for the mail program. To send email to more than one person, type:

mail gilligan skippertoo millionaire wife 

and your mail will go to each of those people. To see how to send email from within the mail program, type ":?" and read all about it.

To end your mail message, type . on a line by itself and press ENTER.

You can send email within the River by addressing it to the login ID of the person(s) you wish to contact. It isn't necessary to use the full address. For example, send email to gilligan instead of gilligan@river.org. You can also send email to people who are not on the River, but you must use the full address: king@netcom.com.

There is another mail program called "Pine" that is available on the River. Since it is menu driven, you might find it easier to use. To use Pine, type "Pine" at the OK or Response prompt.

When you log in, you will see a message that tells you if you have mail. "You Have Mail" means there is still mail that you have read but not deleted. "You Have New Mail" tells you that new mail has arrived for you. While you are on the River, you will be notified if you receive new mail by a "You Have New Mail" message. If you've checked mail during your session online, YAPP sends "You Have More Mail."

If you read mail and do not delete it, it is saved in the Mbox. To read that mail, type "mail -f" or "m -f". It's easy to read mail and forget to delete it, so your mbox could get rather large if you aren't careful about deleting mail. When you read the mbox and have deleted all messages in it, YAPP removes the mbox.

One way a mail box can grow quickly is by receiving a lot of messages from mailing lists. The River suggests you receive mail from such lists at your ISP address. It would be helpful in conserving resources for our fledgling system.

No, there is no facility for receiving a notification that your mail was received and/or read.

Type "q" to leave the mail program.

If your question has not been answered by these manuals, you can send mail to (support03@river.org).

This Manual was prepared by a team of River volunteers, under the leadership of Elizabeth Lipson. Send comments or revisions about manual content to (support03@river.org).

These web pages are maintained by webmaster03. Send notes about the page coding itself to (webmaster03@river.org)