The situations may sound far-fetched in the physical world, but for E-mail users they are frustratingly common.

Serious E-mail users are protesting seriously, and many are switching to competing services.

Short personal messages to individuals or to small groups are acceptable, but E-mail users must exercise common sense, good judgment, and propriety in the use of this Government resource.

But the recent news that simply opening an E-mail message could nuke your hard drive has created a new concern about personal software security among average E-mail users.

But for anyone but the more basic E-mail user, Mr. Klaus does not think that is a great idea.

E-mail users who cannot bear to be without the service when they leave the office now have another way for messages to follow them around.

As a result, E-mail users find that they must be increasingly skeptical of messages received electronically.

E-mail users agree: Don't send anything private over E-mail.

This is no simple decoder ring, and it will probably not be of much use to the average E-mail user who wants privacy.

As of last fall, the survey counted 27.5 million E-mail users.