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Hi! My name is Techno. I’m from Zoltar, a 

planet far, far away from Earth. I’m a 

space traveler, and right now, I’m on my 

way to Mars to see some friends. 

I haven’t been to Mars in a long time, 

and I’m happy to see my friends. But I’m 

going to miss my family back on Zoltar. 

If only I could talk to them while I’m 

away…

"Hey! Who are you?"

A plump, furry creature appeared.

The creature cleared her throat and said, 

"Greetings. My name is Zaftig.   I am here 

to help you."

"You can help me talk to my family?" 

Techno asked. "But they're so far away!" 

Zaftig chuckled. "Techno, distance is no 

match for e-mail," she said.

"E-mail? What's that?" Techno asked.

"E-mail stands for Electronic Mail," Zaftig 

replied. "It is a way to send messages across 

any distance using computers and the 

Internet. It was first used on Earth millions 

of years ago, in 1972. The first e-mail was 

sent from Earth to outer space forty years 

later, in 2012."

"Cool! But how does it work, Zaftig?"

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6

"It is very similar to the postal service 

on Earth," Zaftig explained. "When you send 

a message, the message is placed on a 

server, which is like being sent to the 

local post office. The message stays there 

until it can be delivered to the server 

connected to the other person’s e-mail 

address. Imagine a postman delivering mail 

from one post office to the next. After the 

message gets to the second server, it is 

sent to the proper address, just as postal 

workers deliver mail from the post office 

to specific home addresses. Except all of 

this takes place in a matter of seconds!"

5

"Wow! How can I get started?" Techno 

asked.

"First, you must sign up for an e-mail 

account and e-mail address," Zaftig 

replied.   "There are many e-mail 

providers, but some of the most popular 

are Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail. We 

will use Gmail as an example."

"You begin by filling out a short online 

form. Go to Gmail.com, and click CREATE AN 

ACCOUNT. Then, fill in the information."

"OK. Got it," Techno said. "But now it 

tells me to choose a username. What's 

that?"

"A username is a name that you choose 

to be associated with your account. 

Think of it as a street address," 

Zaftig said. 

"Is the username the part that comes 

before the @ symbol in my e-mail 

address?" Techno asked.

"Yes," Zaftig replied. "Now, you will 

also need to choose a password. A 

password is a code that you choose that 

will allow you access to your account. 

Though it is necessary to share your e-

mail address with people in order to 

receive messages, it is important never 

to share your password with anyone."

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3

"You will also be asked to provide a 

security question and its answer and to 

type in a verification code," Zaftig 

said. "These features are put in place 

to protect your e-mail account from 

being used by other people. Just follow 

the instructions, and provide the 

required information."

"OK...my mother's maiden name is 

Rooloo...my pet retsmah's name is 

Harold...got it!" Techno said.

3

"Brilliant! Now, to send an e-mail, you 

must log in to your account. Since you 

just created your account, you should be 

logged in already, but if you are not, you 

must return to Gmail.com and click SIGN 

IN. Then, type in the username and 

password you selected."

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