Table of Contents
Introduction
Most emails these days take at most a few minutes, at most, to reach their destination. In other words, it arrives almost as fast as instant messages in most cases.
But of course, instant messages should be a little faster, but that doesn’t mean emails should be slow by comparison.
Why Don’t Emails Arrive Directly as with Instant Messages?
The main reason emails are delayed by minutes or even hours to reach their destination is that they remain designed to pass through many mail servers, which can take some time.
Unlike instant messages, emails must pass through a few “stations” before finally displaying them in the recipient’s inbox.
How Do Emails Work?
When you remain done writing email content and pressing the “Send” button, the email server (such as Webapp, Outlook, Gmail, or the phone’s email app) connects to another email server.
Once you create the connection, your email remains sent to that server, where it sits in the queue of outgoing messages. The idea is somewhat similar to leaving a message at the post office.
The server is now looking for where to send the email and contacts the recipient’s mail server.
If everything goes well, the recipient’s server will respond: “Everything is fine. I’ll send your mail now.” the email is delivered to the recipient’s server and then added to the queue for incoming messages. Finally, the recipient’s server verifies that the email address you’ve emailed already exists.
If so, the server will check the email (virus test, filter spam, etc.) and finally convert it to the recipient’s email.
Here the email stays until the recipient presses the “update” button and asks his email client: “Do you have something new for me?” and the email appears in the recipient’s mailbox.
How Do Instant Messaging Programs Work?
The thing that puts instant messages away from other forms of communication is their nature of communication right now (live time).
In other words, the parties, the sender and the recipient, must be present simultaneously to communicate via instant messages. Such as many phone conversations and even face-to-face conversations.
Instant Messaging Apps and Programs
There are a lot of instant messaging apps and programs today, including Whatsapp, Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, etc., that people can use to talk to friends from all over the world.
When you use an app or instant messaging program. It directly links you and your friend (the person you’re trying to contact).
When you sign in, a central server checks the app to see who is connected to the Internet now from among your contacts. And the server then sends the IP address of everyone it finds online.
Therefore, when you send a text message to someone. The server connects you directly to the recipient’s device, so you can send and receive notifications right now.
That’s why the Internet Comes with its Own Pros and Cons
Instant messaging apps work quickly because both the sender and the recipient use the same app or software, meaning messages from both sides will remain handled by servers of the same service. Other than emails.
In short, email works on the Forward and Store form. This means your mail system keeps it on the server until delivered to the other side.
This form assumes that the receiver does not expect to receive mail in real time for the event.
This form also has an important feature: a built-in transmission warranty feature, i.e. if the primary server crashes, your email is directed to the backup server. Where it stores for later recovery.
If the email is not delivered immediately. The servers will try several times again before eventually getting rid of it.
On the other hand, instant messaging services remain designed to work in real time. So if the message remains not delivered at once. It can be forgotten and move on. Programs do not make repeated attempts to send the same note other than email services. That’s why emails aren’t always as fast as instant communication messages.