[NTLUG:Discuss] Advice on email account

[steve at sjbaker.org]

> I am looking at changing my Internet Service Provider, ISP.  The only fly
> in the ointment is
> they provide my primary email account.  What advice do you have for me
> about two items.
>
> 1.  What independent email account provider would you recommend?
>   Should I go with something like gmail?
>   Should I just pay for a host presence (and IP name on the internet) and
> have my own email
> host?
>
> 2. Do you have any advice on how to go about changing email accounts
> without missing important
> emails?

IMHO, you should certainly pay for your own presence.

I pay $9.95 a month to Dreamhost.com - that gets me an ungodly amount of
web space, bandwidth, a Linux shell account on their server - and as many
email addresses as I like.  By buying my own domain, I can always be
"steve at sjbaker.org" and "http://www.sjbaker.org" - no matter which ISP I'm
with - no matter where I move my web hosting to in the future, etc, etc.

With that one single account, I also host a public Wiki, a private Wiki
for friends and family to post photos and such, a mailing list for my
local car club, separate web sites for me, my wife, my son and that car
club.  I also run a game server and my own web-based game site
(http://www.tubagames.net)...and it's a really convenient way to exchange
large files with my son who is in college.

I prefer my ISP to sell me bandwidth and a hole in the wall to plug my
Ethernet cable into...and nothing else.

I've had the same email address now for 17 years - and I don't expect ever
to have to change it - no matter which web hosting company I use and no
matter which ISP I use.   That's good because they have no "lock in" to
prevent me from moving my account if/when they piss me off!

As for switching accounts - if you go the "web presence" route, you can
start switching to your new email account before you close off the old
one.  That makes life a million times easier.  However, it's never a
completely painless operation.

  -- Steve