Ray Tonlinson, an American computer engineer, established the position of @ in e-mail and gave the symbol @ a new meaning. 197 1, he was ordered to find a format of computer address, which would allow users to send emails conveniently. "@" was selected because it won't duplicate a person's name. In the e-mail address format, "@" separates the person's name from the computer address, so that the file will not be misread when it is transmitted in the network. When used in e-mail address format, "@" sounds a bit like "at", meaning "in …". "@" thus entered the computer network.