Surel

Surel is the Indonesian term for electronic mail, the system used to send and receive messages over computer networks. It corresponds to the English word email and is built on standard Internet protocols. The term is formed from surat (letter) and elektronik (electronic). In Malay-speaking regions such as Malaysia, surel is also commonly used.

History and usage context: The practice of electronic mail predates the local term, but the word surel gained prominence with the growth of the Internet in Indonesia during the 1990s. Government bodies, media outlets, and educational institutions increasingly adopted surel for formal and informal communications, helping to normalize its use in everyday language. Today, surel addresses are commonly used in personal, academic, and business contexts.

Technical basics: An email address consists of a local part and a domain, written as user@domain. Messages are transmitted using the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and retrieved with clients that use IMAP or POP3. Attachments and rich formatting are supported through MIME. Security features include encryption of transport with TLS and optional end-to-end encryption via S/MIME or PGP. Email infrastructure is globally distributed, which raises concerns about spam, phishing, and impersonation.

Usage and etiquette: Surel remains a primary channel for formal communication, documentation, and collaboration. Common practices include clear subject lines, professional salutations, and appropriate signatures. Organizations often implement archiving and retention policies to manage correspondence and compliance.

See also: Email, Internet protocol standards, digital communication.