Chapter 6. Email

We can extend the usefulness of web applications by providing additional channels in which users can get data in and out. Typical web applications already use email as a channel for outputting data to users in the form of alerts and notifications. Email can also be used to drive engagement and usage by pulling users back into the application.

A flip side of using email for outputting data is to use it as a vector for receiving user data. This gets a little bit trickier and requires some knowledge of email infrastructure and protocols. In this chapter we'll look at what receiving email can add to an application, how to implement email receiving semantics, and the various pitfalls that occur along the way.