Comments for What's a good way to get a permanent email address?

Comment from Brian Babson on 2009-01-11

2009-01-11T23:29:38Z

Hi, Leo. For my permanent email address, I am debating the wisdom of using my own name as my domain name. On the plus side, MyName.com would be easy for people to remember. On the minus side, as you no doubt are aware, my contact information -- address, phone number, email -- becomes available to the public through WhoIs.com. In theory, any access to personal information is potentially harmful. But realistically, I wonder how much risk it poses.

Some registrars offer a service to keep the information private. But apparently, under any pressure at all, they surrender the information. See "Private domains not so private?" at http://news.cnet.com/Private-domains-not-so-private/2100-1038_3-5833663.html Doesn't sound good.

I know of a somewhat controversial investigative journalist and also well-known British atheist that use their own names. Apparently, they aren't too worried about the exposure, unless they've found another way to shield themselves.

Any thoughts?

If you look up the registration to any of my domains you'll see how I've addressed the issue: the mailing address is a post office box, and the phone number is a fax/voicemail service. This guarantees I can be reached (which is the requirement) without disclosing more personal information.

I tend to dislike privacy services because they hide everything, and often I'm just looking for the owner of a domain without any plans to stalk them or show up at their doorstop. (Email's typically all I want.)

You're correct, though, that by using a privacy service you're trusting that they will, in fact, keep your privacy. Certainly there are legal issues at play that might force them not to, or they could just be less than upstanding about it. At least with my approach I know what's out there, and have some small amount of control while still remaining in accordance with the rules.

- Leo
11-Jan-2009

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Comment from Vaughn Cable on 2007-10-23

2007-10-24T02:34:58Z

Thank you, Leo. That cleared up all the loose ends for me. I will try directnic.com (mentioned above) & see if they live up to their reputation.

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Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2007-10-23

2007-10-23T21:31:19Z

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1) What happens to my registered domain name if my registrar goes out of
business?

Usually as part of going out of business the registrar transfers all
registrations to another registrar.

2) Can another registrar pick up my domain name

Aside from going out of business, or perhaps selling their assets to another
registrar, they cannot - at least not without your permission. You can elect to
transfer, of course, to another registrar.

3) Isn't a registrar essentially agreeing to keep your domain name active on a DNS?

Yes and no. Your registrar must keep a pointer to the DNS servers that define
your DNS entries. That DNS Server may, or may not, be owned and run by the
registrar. Again, up to you.

4) Isn't a domain name synonymous with an IP address?

No.

A domain name may point to several IP addresses. (It's a poor form of load
balancing - you can assign multiple IPs to the same domain name, and people
accessing the domain name will get one of those addresses at random.)

Similarly, several domains may point to the same IP. A good example would
be several sites hosted on a single server.

5) Is it possible to get a .net domain instead of a .com domain? I only want
it for my family, not for a commercial business.

Sure. Just check with your registrar for availability. Example: I own both
ask-leo.com and ask-leo.net.

Leo

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Comment from Vaughn Cable on 2007-10-23

2007-10-23T19:48:35Z

Leo, you don't have to post this. I was just trying to understand it better before I jump into the water.
1) What happens to my registered domain name if my registrar goes out of business?
2) Can another registrar pick up my domain name
3) Isn't a registrar essentially agreeing to keep your domain name active on a DNS?
4) Isn't a domain name synonymous with an IP address?
5) Is it possible to get a .net domain instead of a .com domain? I only want it for my family, not for a commercial business.

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Comment from Val on 2007-10-14

2007-10-14T21:31:41Z

thank you

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Comment from Dan Warrener on 2007-08-30

2007-08-30T08:23:47Z

Dear Leo,

Thankyou!

For years I have been changing email addresses here and there but for the past 7 years have had one with my ISP. It was reasonably private and all but I realized I had one with my domain that I never used. Now I'm keeping my email with my ISP open for two - three years, following the pointers in this article, while I migrate everything I have (I'm quite the enthusiast and have my email on possibly thousands of systems). Thankyou so much, you've made quite a difference in my tech-life with this article.

Dan.

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Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2007-06-06

2007-06-07T04:27:40Z

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No, not unless they provide the service.

Thanks,

Leo
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Comment from Ron Sanders on 2007-06-06

2007-06-06T17:00:24Z

Leo, I am trying to drop my old service provider, "Carolina.net". Can I have my email, associatetd with them, forwarded to a new address for a period of time. They , Carolina.net, do not provide that service.

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Comment from Michael Horowitz on 2007-03-11

2007-03-12T01:07:58Z

I agree with everything Leo said, but would like to expand on it a bit.

There are two types of email addresses: those with a real mailbox/inbox and those that are nothing more than a forwarding rule. To borrow a phrase, for the second type of email address, there is no there there. Personally, I have one inbox and a couple dozen email addresses. All but one of the email address are simply forwarding rules, and they all forward messages to my one inbox.

The companies that register domains (mylumbercompany.com) are called Registrars. To register a domain, simply visit the web site of a Registar with a credit card in hand. All Registrars offer a search feature on their web site where you can check whether your desired domain name is taken or not.

I have dealt with more than my share of Registrars and recommend directnic.com which, at the time of this writing, charges $15/year for a domain. GoDaddy is a very popular Registrar and I've found them to be average - not the best and not the worst. They currently charge $9/year for a domain.

But there probably isn't a lot of money to be made registeriing domains, so Registrars also offer email services and web site hosting. The services offered and pricing varies greatly. Often some bare bones email and website hosting is included in the price of the domain registration.

When reviewing email services, be aware that the common term for a real mailbox (as opposed to a forwarding rule) is a POP3 account. In general POP3 accounts cost more and/or are more limited than forwarded email addresses. I assume it's a more expensive service in that it requires storage space on a server and possibly virus scanning and spam filtering.

Directnic.com includes free email forwarding when you register a domain with them. Real mailboxes are an extra charge.

The email services provided by GoDaddy when you register a domain are very confusing. Their marketing term is "complete email", but after looking all over their web site, I could not figure out exactly what this means (and I checked both while logged in and not). I think it includes a single real mailbox and email forwarding, but don't hold me to it. They offer two different plans for buying additional email services.

Register.com does not include any email services when you register a domain with them. I'm not a big fan of Register.com.

If email is your priority, there is no need to have any web site connected to your domain. The common term for this is "parking". Often the registrar will create a single page web site for you automatically. It serves as advertising for them and provides notice to the outside world that your domain name is taken.

Interestingly, if you have a website hosted with a company other than your Registrar, then you can get email service from either your Registrar or your website hosting company.

Finally, if you own your own domain, guard the userid/password for your account with your Registrar carefully. It is the keys to the castle.

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Comment from Phil on 2007-03-09

2007-03-10T03:37:39Z

Many college alumni associations provide an e-mail address that is transparent. You get the prestige of an @*.edu and can change your ISP at will. Just notify them of the new forwarding address.

This is as near permament as one can get.

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Comment from Leo A. Notenboom on 2007-03-05

2007-03-05T17:17:30Z

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Many email services don't provide a forwarding feature. I know that the
free MSN Hotmail and free MSN mails do not. I would assume the same is
true for paid MSN mail.

Leo
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Comment from Chris Spencer on 2007-03-04

2007-03-05T07:51:35Z

When I last changed my address I just set my old one to forward any messages II receive to my new one, I still occasionally get messages on that account and whenever I do I correct the sender. It is completely transparent except the To bit gives my old address instead of my current one.

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