ISP Email Addresses

[Herdfan]

Why??

I know some of you probably use them, but why?

This came up over Christmas when my MIL was setting up something that needed her email. She said she had to look it up because it is new and she can't remember it. WTF? A couple of years ago my BIL and I set her up a gmail account because she is a price shopper and kept changing providers or they would change names and she would end up with a new email. Well, she moved this past summer and got a new email and has been using it instead of her gmail.

She said they told her she had to have it. Again WTF?? Just because you "might" have to have it doesn't mean you have to use it. We used her gmail and she will just have to deal.

So who here uses the ISP email and why?

 

[Renzatic]

I haven't used my ISP provided email since the early 2000's. There's no reason for it these days.

 

[Runs For Fun]

I didn't even know ISPs were still offering those.

She said they told her she had to have it.

Typical low level support BS would be my guess.

 

[Eric]

I haven't used my ISP provided email since the early 2000's. There's no reason for it these days.

^ This. I would question any site that will not allow basic webmail (i.e. gmail or yahoo) addresses, most these days are using them and they would just be losing a lot of business that way.

 

[SuperMatt]

I help older people in my local area with tech support issues. It is mostly older or non-tech-oriented people that use the ISP’s email, because they don’t know any better. In some cases (like Verizon) they have switched email systems 2-3 times in a short period of time, seriously inconveniencing their customers. And, if you switch to another ISP, you lose the email address.

I always switch them away from the ISP’s email. But good luck getting them to give up their AOL address...

 

[Joe]

One of my former bosses still had his AOL email address. LOL. I use to tease him all the time about it.

 

[Chew Toy McCoy]

My aunt set up her Facebook account with her ISP email address. At some point she switched providers and later forgot her Facebook password she needed when she got a new computer. She no longer had access to the ISP email address she used to set up the account and now needed to reset her password. And that's how my aunt stopped using Facebook. Can't say that was a bad thing.

 

[casperes1996]

My ex actually used an ISP email address, at least as one of her email addresses. Young, moderately tech literate. Though the ISP had also been stable about it for like 2 decades now and is generally pretty good. I've used the same ISP my whole life though I don't use their email service

 

[Alli]

My aunt set up her Facebook account with her ISP email address. At some point she switched providers and later forgot her Facebook password she needed when she got a new computer. She no longer had access to the ISP email address she used to set up the account and now needed to reset her password. And that's how my aunt stopped using Facebook. Can't say that was a bad thing.

My mother has had 3 different FB accounts because of this.

 

[Clix Pix]

I still keep my ISP email address in my Apple Mail but have definitely shifted away from using it as my primary or even secondary email account...... For sites where I have to register or am buying something and need to provide an email address I always use my Gmail account. More personal email transactions are done with my long-cherished dot Mac account.

 

[casperes1996]

I still keep my ISP email address in my Apple Mail but have definitely shifted away from using it as my primary or even secondary email account...... For sites where I have to register or am buying something and need to provide an email address I always use my Gmail account. More personal email transactions are done with my long-cherished dot Mac account.

I once had an employee of an Apple Premium Reseller say "Oh wow, @me. You have been with us for a while". That employee would feint if they heard your email address
I like to use my @me for personal things too. These days I also often use Apple's Hide my Email for small purchases and random websites. And for some things I use my @theparallelthread (custom) and my uni email when I get discounts with it, haha.
In order of importance of what they are used for
hide my email < Gmail < Hotmail/Exchange/Live < uni = @me = @theparallelthread
And I never really use my @iCloud but I have like 3 different ones, one just my regular handle and two I set up for use with projects that are now defunct because I have my own domain.

 

[Clix Pix]

At the time I first bought anything Apple -- my first iMac in 2005 -- that is when I got the dot.mac account and at the time didn't really appreciate how much I would come to value it!

Gmail is very useful for signing up/registering at various websites which require it and/or for having an email address for correspondence with a vendor during and following a purchase transaction. I used to have my own domain and used that address as my personal email account for years but eventually decided I didn't really need the domain any more since I had never gotten around to and was not using it for developing and sharing an actual website and its contents, so shut that down a few years ago.