(originally posted here∞)

Personally, cable internet comes with my rent; I don't even know who it's from. Besides that, I never stay in one place long enough to make it worth setting up. An email service, free or otherwise, makes far more sense. I'll just get a domain. It'll be far easier.

You miss the point. Having a domain + a "real" account gives the ability to shield yourself from spam without sacrificing portability. Nor do you even need an email host, just forwarding records in your DNS (free @ zoneedit.com).

For example, you forward foo@domain.com to your ISP (or myrealbox) email. You tell ABSOLUTELY NOBODY what the latter address is. If foo finds its way onto a spam list, you create bar@domain.com, keep foo for a few weeks to point everyone important to the new addy, and move on. Meanwhile, absolutely no spam going to the ISP/free email. If you have to move ISPs, simply redirect your mailforwards.

Advanced version: create 30+ foo's intended for various groups, so that (1) you can have your email client sort incoming mail in a foolproof manner without having to examine subject lines or other fuzzy details (2) if one becomes victim to spam, you have a well-defined set of people/companies to notify of a change, and (3) you can easily investigate who sold you out, or got infected by the virus, etc.


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