That is why you can see your emails from any PC you log into. The emails you see are actually on a server, and not on your hard drive. Incoming and outgoing mail servers are used by providers such as yahoo or hotmail to provide you with emails you receive or send out. These settings can usually be accessed through the applications preferences or account options.
If you select the proper options then you can actually fetch your messages on multiple computers and different locations without having them deleted. There are settings in most email client applications that will allow you to choose whether or not your messages are kept on the remote mail server. Yeah, how do I know which server my pc uses? I still do not know what an incoming server is. I have read the above, I know for a fact I am well above average intelligence, but I still cannot figure one account when I successfully did four others fifteen years ago! I have no problem understanding the explanation once it's given.There is an honest attempt to communicate here and I recognize this, but an abysmal failure.
They wish to understand it and this requires a much more unambiguous explanation. I do not doubt that the author understands it. What we need is an explanation written by a teacher. With all due respect this explains to people who already know and won't be looking. I still don't understand what a incoming mail server is. For example, collected mail can be tagged as having been read. Using the IMAP protocol, mail on the incoming mail server can also be tagged or flagged to indicate various states or conditions. Though some mail can be quickly answered using a thumb keypad, longer replies are more conveniently typed from a standard computer at a later time. Those who use personal digital assistants (PDAs), cell phones, and other personal electronics with email access and IMAP support will also appreciate being able to check mail without having the process delete the mail from the server. The home email client can then be configured to delete the mail off the server. For example, using IMAP, the user can collect personal email while at work to keep up to date on things, then can delete it off the work machine and collect it again from home to reply.
This is convenient for people who collect mail from multiple clients or locations. The IMAP protocol allows mail retrieval from the server while leaving copies behind. While POP3 is efficient, it isn’t always handy. Only one client can access a POP3 mailbox at a time, and once mail is collected, it is automatically deleted off the server.
This might be a proprietary password used just for mail, or the password assigned to the account. Authentication is required to collect mail from an incoming mail server and takes the form of the email address and associated password. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) commonly provide its customers with a POP3 address. Incoming mail servers can be named according to the retrieval protocol used. The incoming mail server address, however, might be named after a retrieval protocol, such as Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3),, or Internet Message Access Protocol ( IMAP),. At the client (user) level, most people associate SMTP with sending mail only, and the address of the outgoing mail server is often. At the server level, SMTP is responsible for both sending and receiving email between relay hosts that route the mail through the network to its destination. In order to handle email uniformly across networks like the Internet, the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) was designed and is the standard protocol used for email exchange.