In what year was the “@” chosen for its use in e-mail addresses?

The correct answer is: C. 1980

The @ sign was chosen for its use in e-mail addresses in 1980 by Ray Tomlinson, an American computer programmer who is considered to be the inventor of email. Tomlinson was working at Bolt Beranek and Newman (BBN), a research company in Cambridge, Massachusetts, when he developed the first email system in 1971. He chose the @ sign because it was a common symbol that was not used in any other part of an email address.

The other options are incorrect:

• A. 1976 is the year that the first message was sent over the ARPANET, a precursor to the internet. However, email was not invented until 1971.
• B. 1972 is the year that the first message was sent using the @ sign. However, this message was not an email, but rather a file transfer.
• D. 1984 is the year that the first commercial email service was launched. However, the @ sign was already in use for email addresses by this time.