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Reasons to not use your own domain for email

bautista.dev

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Re: Reasons to not use your own domain for email

#12

And furthermore using Google mail for business purposes doesn't have unprofessional stigma anymore, especially amongst younger people (naturally meaning under 50).

Using Google Mail sure, but using Google's domain sure as heck does.

I cringe every time I see a business card printed with a gmail.com or similar, or on the side of someone's van.

If you can go through the effort of registering a business and having a professional looking logo plastered all over your vans, business card etc, you can almost certainly register a domain for your email.

Re: Reasons to not use your own domain for email

#13

I strongly disagree. - Google has on multiple occasions terminated accounts for no reason with no recourse. You loose access you can't do anything. If you have your own domain you can at least set it up somewhere else. How many website would you need to update with your new email and how would you get thay extra factor mail? - If I die I don't care if someone else reads my mail, I'm dead. Also you can add a dead man'…

I didn't recommend an email host on purpose because that's not the point I was trying to make. I recommend iCloud since it's the cheapest paid email provider you can get if you have or had any Apple device. Fastmail is a close second.

Unfortunately if you stop paying for fastmail or your Google account becomes inactive, they terminate your account and the email address becomes available for a new user.

I think the concern that your email address is subject to takeover is valid, but unfortunately relying on generic domains isn't the solution.

https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/12418290?hl=en

Re: Reasons to not use your own domain for email

#14

I strongly disagree. - Google has on multiple occasions terminated accounts for no reason with no recourse. You loose access you can't do anything. If you have your own domain you can at least set it up somewhere else. How many website would you need to update with your new email and how would you get thay extra factor mail? - If I die I don't care if someone else reads my mail, I'm dead. Also you can add a dead man'…

About not being worried, that someone could read your mail in the case you're dead:

Always bear in mind you're not writing mails to yourself. The other party writing mails with you, might not be that happy with third parties reading their mails. Privacy is not only about you

Re: Reasons to not use your own domain for email

#16
The main reasons for me that I stopped using my own domain:

- some sites will just silently refuse to accept addresses on unknown domains and signing up becomes impossible

- worse, some sites accept it for sign up, but later on refuse to send a password reset

- every time you have you write down or say out our your email address to a non-technical person, you are then obligated to host a mini Q&A on domain names and how email works

Re: Reasons to not use your own domain for email

#17

I strongly disagree. - Google has on multiple occasions terminated accounts for no reason with no recourse. You loose access you can't do anything. If you have your own domain you can at least set it up somewhere else. How many website would you need to update with your new email and how would you get thay extra factor mail? - If I die I don't care if someone else reads my mail, I'm dead. Also you can add a dead man'…

About not being worried, that someone could read your mail in the case you're dead: Always bear in mind you're not writing mails to yourself. The other party writing mails with you, might not be that happy with third parties reading their mails. Privacy is not only about you

I'm still sad because PGP/GPG couldn't make the UX work for signing and encrypting emails 20 years ago. It's still a huge pain to do, even if you're a hobbyist like me.

Encryption/decryption should've been a standard thing everyone does transparently when sending emails with one recipient. Multi-recipient mails should always be signed, automatically.

Maybe some day.

Re: Reasons to not use your own domain for email

#18

The main reasons for me that I stopped using my own domain: - some sites will just silently refuse to accept addresses on unknown domains and signing up becomes impossible - worse, some sites accept it for sign up, but later on refuse to send a password reset - every time you have you write down or say out our your email address to a non-technical person, you are then obligated to host a mini Q&A on domain names and…

I've used a non-standard domain (@iki.fi) for a good decade or so, I've never had any of these issues.

Was your personal domain a newer "vanity" tld one?

Re: Reasons to not use your own domain for email

#19
I use posteo, which satisfies the suggested requirements of being relatively cheap and the domain does not belong to me.

However, doesn't this allow a sibling to the described threat model? If posteo go bust, their domain could be claimed by someone else. Then, even if I change email providers, senders who haven't updated their address books will keep sending email to my old posteo address.

I think the points in the linked post are interesting and worth thinking about, but I don't think the answer is never use your own domain for email. Instead, maybe, just think twice, and have an answer ready to the question of what happens to your email if the domain name is lost.

Re: Reasons to not use your own domain for email

#20

I strongly disagree. - Google has on multiple occasions terminated accounts for no reason with no recourse. You loose access you can't do anything. If you have your own domain you can at least set it up somewhere else. How many website would you need to update with your new email and how would you get thay extra factor mail? - If I die I don't care if someone else reads my mail, I'm dead. Also you can add a dead man'…

About not being worried, that someone could read your mail in the case you're dead: Always bear in mind you're not writing mails to yourself. The other party writing mails with you, might not be that happy with third parties reading their mails. Privacy is not only about you

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