Webmail and a spam filter or blocker are essential tools. Webmail provides convenient access to your e-mail box from any Internet connection. A spam filter helps to block unsolicited and junk email. Webmail and spam filter programs are available from a variety of sources. A spam filter is often included free as an added value service from Internet service providers and web hosting services. eMail service is often bundled with spam filter service. There are many inexpensive and free webmail programs and ways to block spam. Why should anyone develop anything new?

Local e-mail client programs run on your computer. Outlook Express and Eudora are examples of email clients, which run on your local computer. These types of email programs were the first to gain popularity and have been around for many years. All of the messages are downloaded to the inbox and then everything is in one place on your computer. The resources are local, which enables the software to run complex programs with massive amounts of data and still have a fast graphic user interface (GUI). The down-side is that by downloading all of the messages and handling them locally, your computer is susceptible to spam and viruses. It is best to restrict downloads, especially if the source may be unknown.

Webmail runs at a remote location. The data and email program is on a server and the graphic user interface (browser) is on your local computer. Your computer and the server are connected through a network and/or the Internet. Most network servers are safeguarded against viruses and hacks that might destroy your laptop or PC. Webmail is accessible from just about any Internet connection using a common Internet browser and it uses less bandwidth because fewer files are downloaded. Webmail is ideal for multi-user email management because the data is centralized. The down-side to webmail is that page loading may be slow due to data transfer and processing between your computer and the server, which may be busy during peak periods of time. Also, heavy graphics and complex functionality tend to slow page loading. As a result, the graphic user interface for webmail is typically simple in design and functionality.

Most webmail programs emulate familiar client side programs such as Outlook Express. It seems like developers followed the leaders and designed the first webmail applications to look and act like client side email applications. Then, they kept making the applications work that way because everybody was used to it.

Most Webmail programs view all new messages in the inbox and then organize the email messages into folders the way that Outlook Express and most other client side programs manage messages. The free Horde webmail program follows the same model. All new messages are first viewed in the inbox and then you must manually delete spam and move messages from one place to another in a complex system of folders. Don't get me wrong, Horde is a great program if you like to work within that kind of file and folder structure, but it can be tedious and messy if you are not inclined to organize things manually.

Manual file and folder management is inefficient and tedious. When a page is submitted and another one loaded, data is exchanged between your browser and the server. It takes time for this to occur. Manual organization of messages by moving them from folder to folder requires many clicks and page submissions. Moving messages from one folder to another in this way is a manual process, which someone must continually do to maintain the system consistently. It is a time consuming, inefficient process, which is prone to human error and tends to get out of control quickly. AShopMail simplifies the process and saves time.

Spam filters typically use complex formulas and lists to determine which messages are spam and which ones aren't. Spam filters such as this can require ongoing maintenance and they are prone to being inaccurate. With conventional webmail, whatever passes through the spam filter downloads to the inbox. Then, you must delete spam from the inbox. AShopMail does not presume to know what is spam and what is not. It only knows if the sender is on your contact list or list of accepted domains. It is predictable and easy to understand.

AShopMail organizes messages logically and automatically. Traditional email clients and webmail programs depend on ineffective, high maintenance spam filters and then they force users to devise a system of folders and move each message manually. If the manual job of moving messages from one folder to another is not done, the inbox quickly becomes cluttered and unmanageable. AShopMail automatically separates messages according to known contacts and spam so that spam is easy to browse and delete. AShopMail saves contacts and related messages automatically. It does NOT require creation of folders or moving of files from one place to another.

Spam is NOT downloaded to the inbox! The inbox is reserved for messages that are from legitimate contacts. Only new messages from known contacts and from the AShopMail spam proof contact form are moved to the inbox. New messages from unrecognized senders are sorted automatically to the spam bin. Messages in the spam bin may be browsed and moved to the inbox as needed. Then the spam bin can be easily dumped with one click. Spam does not get into the inbox!

For messages to be moved automatically to the inbox the following conditions must be met. All other messages go to the spam bin where they can be browsed and saved individually before dumping the junk mail.

• Sender is already in the inbox.
• Sender is already on the contact list.
• Domain of sender is on accepted domain list.
• Message was submitted through the AShopMail spam proof online contact form.

A spam-proof contact form allows new contacts to send a message directly to your inbox from a web page form post. A local contact form and an example of a form, which may be used in a remote site, are included with AShopMail and may be modified as needed. Messages submitted by form post go directly to the inbox. When messages in the inbox are replied to or saved, the contact is automatically added to your contact list.

An automatic bounce message can be set to reply to unknown senders with a standard response. The response can direct new contacts to your spam-proof contact form and it also includes automatically generated customized standard delivery failure dialog. The failure message is designed so that it triggers mailing lists to remove your email address from their mailing lists.

New contacts are added automatically or manually. When messages in the inbox are replied to or saved, new contacts are automatically added and the messages are saved to each new contacts' history. Contacts may be imported from Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, and many other popular email client programs using vCard import. Messages received in the spam bin can be moved to the inbox and then replied to and/or saved. When a message is replied to or saved the new contact is automatically added so that future email will be received from that contact. Messages from known contacts have short cut links so that you can easily view their profile and message history.

The AShopMail method of organization does not require any setup or maintenance. It works naturally and automatically. Contacts and messages can be found by a quick lookup or search. It is simple, efficient, and best of all free!

Free AShopMail service is currently available by request for subscribers of AShopCart automated shopping cart service and clients of AShop Web Hosting service.