There are two standards currently used for most e-mail sent today. SMTP stands for simple mail transfer protocol. POP is an acronym Post Office Protocol. Though it may sound confusing, the difference is not hard to understand. POP is a protocol for storage of email. SMTP is a protocol for sending and receiving.
To give a real-world illustration, SMTP would be like a letter carrier or mailman. He or she can deliver or pick up mail for transfer to another location. POP is like a mailbox or Post Office Box. It is the location the mail is delivered to and where it stays until the recipient is ready to read it. Outgoing mail can also be put in the mailbox.
POP was first designed in 1984 with the idea of allowing users to access an e-mail server, retrieve messages to a local folder located on the computer, and then go offline for reading and writing replies. In part, the offline capabilities were developed at a time when logging on to the Internet was relatively expensive and users were charged per minute. Currently, most of those using the POP standard are using the third version, developed in 1988. This is often referred to as POP3.
To give a real-world illustration, SMTP would be like a letter carrier or mailman. He or she can deliver or pick up mail for transfer to another location. POP is like a mailbox or Post Office Box. It is the location the mail is delivered to and where it stays until the recipient is ready to read it. Outgoing mail can also be put in the mailbox.
POP was first designed in 1984 with the idea of allowing users to access an e-mail server, retrieve messages to a local folder located on the computer, and then go offline for reading and writing replies. In part, the offline capabilities were developed at a time when logging on to the Internet was relatively expensive and users were charged per minute. Currently, most of those using the POP standard are using the third version, developed in 1988. This is often referred to as POP3.
