Every email application is set up a bit differently, but all of them let you establish “Accounts,” or “Personalities,” which consist of a server name (for incoming mail), an SMTP server name (for outgoing mail), an account name (your account), and an optional password.

Alternatively, you can access your email via the web.

The screenshots shown here are from Mail for Mac OS X. Your mail application may look different, but the settings will be similar. Regardless how your email application is set up, you’ll need to enter information similar to what’s shown here:

Here’s a similar screenshot from Microsoft Entourage for Mac OS X:

• POP (incoming) mail server: mail.yourdomain.com
• IMAP users: Please see the IMAP FAQ.
• Account: Your full email address, e.g. jayzee@birdhouse.org or anita@paisley.com. Unless you’re checking the “master account,” it is not sufficient to simply enter “jayzee” or “anita.”
• Email Address / Return Address: (Sometimes called “From” address or “Reply-to” address). The address to which replies to your email will be sent. This will probably be your birdhouse email address, but can be anything you like, such as a Yahoo! address, or a work address. It’s up to you. If unsure, just enter the same address that went into the Account field.
• SMTP (outgoing) mail server:Many major ISPs (e.g. Comcast, SBC/Yahoo, etc.) block the use of 3rd-party SMTP servers such as ours. Therefore, we recommend that you use the SMTP server provided by your ISP. Check the account settings for the email account you use to access your ISP’s mail account, and copy those into the configuration for your Birdhouse account. Note that there is nothing that Birdhouse can do about SMTP blocking. In fact, we regard it as a good thing, as it helps ISPs clamp down on spammers. Using your ISP’s SMTP server will not affect the appearance of your outgoing mail in any way.

  If your ISP DOES allow use of 3rd-party SMTP servers, you can use Birdhouse for SMTP, though there is no advantage to doing so. See the FAQ Sending Mail (SMTP) for more information.

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