How Email Works at MIT
Overview
Incoming mail is received by centralized post office servers,
equipped with two protocols for handling mail:
- IMAP
(recommended)
IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) is a
client-server approach to email in which your email
is kept on the server. When you work with your email,
your email program (the client) connects to the post
office server to access your email. Since your email
always remains on the server, you can easily access it
from multiple workstations and programs just as you
can access your voice mail messages from any
phone.
- POP
POP (Post Office Protocol) is a basic store-and-forward mail system. Email is received at the post office server and held until you request it. When you connect to the server, your email is moved to your computer (or home directory on Athena) and deleted from the server. POP is an older protocol that does not offer all the modern message handling features of IMAP.
See also Choosing an Email Program at MIT
Outgoing mail is routed through an SMTP
server, called outgoing.mit.edu.
See also SMTP Authentication: Secure Outbound Email at MIT
Getting an Account
Receiving email sent to an @mit.edu address
You need to Get
a Kerberos/Athena Account. Your account allows you
access to many services and features of MITnet including
email. Kerberos
provides security on physically insecure networks
ensuring that only you can access your email and
services.
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Size Limits for Sending and Storing
Email
The MIT mail system has over 24,000 users. To guarantee
service for all of them, there are a few guidelines:
Sending large files
Do not use email to send large files. Use another method, such
as FTP.
Quota for email storage on the post office server
Each user with an @mit.edu address has a 1 GB quota for storage
of email.
Check your email
storage quota [
certificates required]
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