firefox

[Preston Hagar]

On Fri, Jul 23, 2010 at 5:01 AM, Basil Chupin <blchupin at iinet.net.au> wrote:
>
> Ummm, I don't know where you are because your gmail address tells no one
> anything - which is why most people use, I guess, because it hides their
> identity; but don't quote me as I have never used any qmail or yahoo or
> anything else goobly-dooky except my own ISPs' facilities for mail and
> their maibox facilities. If your ISP doesn't give you the flexibility to
> have what you want then you should consider looking for another ISP, no?
>
>
> BC
>

>From your email it looks like you are in Australia.  I live in the US,
specifically Dallas/Fort Worth Texas.  In Dallas/Fort Worth, two
companies, Verizon and AT&T own 95% of the physical copper and/or
fiber lines that run throughout the Metroplex.  Areas of the city are
"Verizon territory" or "AT&T territory" and the two (to the best of my
knowledge) never share an area.  On top of that, Verizon and AT&T are
not required to allow 3rd party ISPs to use their lines, or at least
they can make them jump through so many hoops that no one can meet the
requirements to use the lines.  The creates an effective monoply for
the ISPs depending on where you live.  Typically, your ISP options
will be one of the two cable companies (whichever one is in your area)
and either Verizon or AT&T.  In some areas, you may have a few 3rd
party ISP options.  Where I currently live, I have the cable company
or Verizon.  I had, for a while, a reseller ISP (that used Verizon's
lines) called DSLExtreme, but Verizon has decided they don't want the
competition and won't renew the agreement allowing them to resell
their fiber.  There is nothing DSLExtreme or anyone can do about it.
If Verizon doesn't want to let them, they don't have to.

With most ISP emails, the typical account allows for about 100MB of
storage, at most, but that honestly isn't the worst part.  If you move
apartments/houses, you loose your email account.  2 years ago I moved
about 10 miles (stayed within Dallas/Fort Worth).  I went from an AT&T
area to a Verizon area.  If my email address had been with AT&T, I
would have lost it.  Since it was with GMail, I had no issue.

Another issue with using ISP email is something I could see you
facing:  It locks you in.  You said yourself that you switched ISPs a
few years ago because of the poor spam filters your previous ISP used.
 What if, for whatever reason, your current ISP fires their CIO/emain
admin, and the new guy then decides to completely change the spam
filters and make them more like your previous ISP?  Or, what if your
current ISP decides to double their rates starting next month (not
sure if it is allowed in Australia. It is allowed in the US)?  If you
want to switch again, you have to go through the pain of changing the
email address for all your mailing list subscriptions, notifying
everyone that emails you of your new address, and then risk possibly
missing emails from people who didn't get the notification of your
switch once you move.  A service like GMail is ISP agnostic.  It stays
with you no matter where you go.

That is the main reason I won't ever use any ISPs email and I
encourage everyone else to stay away from them as well.


Preston