Some clarifications of different messaging

[Sponge14]

I see all these threads about mms messaging, and a whole bunch of work arounds. I have a stock 6700, and I am about to get all the internet hooked up to it on an employee plan (unlimited vision). Am I going to be able to send and receive pictures with my stock phone? What are the different types of messaging, and what does each one mean? Sorry about the question being so basic, I couldn't find any answers to this. Thanks.