What is the difference between: POP3 Accounts, Aliases, Auto-Responders, and Vacation-Responders?

POP3 ACCOUNT: A POP3 email account (stands for Post Office Protocol version 3) is an physical email storage folder that lives on a mail server. Mail for that account is processed for viruses and SPAM, then, if clean, is deposited into the folder to await pickup. The client then, using their email program (Outlook Express, Eudora, Outlook or any other ones) connects to the mail server and asks to have the mail. If the username and password match the ones that the mail server has on file, the mail is released and goes to the users computer.

ALIASES: An email "Alias" is a simple redirection that allows email addresses to be redirected before even going to the local POP3 mail server. This is an example of an alias:

Your domain is hosted at WeDoHosting.com and you have a POP3 email account setup that you are using here. Your current email address is "bob@yourdomain.com", however you also want to receive "sales@yourdomain.com", "webmaster@yourdomain.com", "info@yourdomain.com" and "bob.jones@yourdomain.com"

What you can do is log into the email administration interface and go to the "Aliases" section. In that section, choose "Add Alias" then add "sales" then choose the main "bob@yourdomain.com" account to forward it to. Once that is done, any email forwarded to "sales@yourdomain.com" will be automatically routed to your "bob" POP3 account. Repeat this step to add additional aliases.

AUTO-RESPONDERS: The number 1 rule for autoresponders is to not confuse these types or email addresses with "Vacation Messages".

An Autoresponder acts like an Alias (above) however when the message to the address is processed, 2 things happen. A: The original email is forwarded to and account that you specify (either for your domain or externally) and B: A pre-written response is generated back to the sender. Usually an acknowledgement of receipt of the senders email, or some pre-written marketing information.

In order to avoid Autoresponders bounces back and forth with each other, the WeDoHosting.com limits auto responses to only once per hour, per sender email address.

VACATION-RESPONDERS: Since we mentioned Vacation Messages above, we should really add this information just to help clear things up. A vacation message is an email that is generated from an actual POP3 account when a message is sent to it.

How does a Vacation Message differ from an Autoresponder? A vacation message is tied directly to a POP3 (storage) email account, whereas an Autoresponder is a "fake" email address that is simply redirects the senders message (like an alias) once the automatic response has been sent out.