Is it time for "email portability"?

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coffeebaron

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#617898 1-May-2012 13:21

Talkiet: No.

You asked, I answered... I think given the barriers (which others have touched on, and MANY more) it's just not feasible to do this.

I too wince when I see plumbers vans with 'jerrytheplumber@xtra.co.nz' on the side of it, but trying to do 'email portability' is just reinforcing a short sighted and deeply flawed behaviour.

The best way to solve this for people that care is to do it themselves. There's a one time hit (with LOTS of ways to mitigate the impact) that will leave people with a far better outcome.

Cheers - N

Disclaimer - I work for Telecom. It's right there, to the left of the post, but sometimes I feel the need to point it out, lest I be accused of just being a shill, for 'the man' :-)

It is definitely feasible, and Telecom has been able to do this for years - i.e. an email only or very cheap dial-up account.
Orcon do it for free (or at least last tiem I checked).
Vodafone use to do a $5 per month email only account.

I am not talking about any DNS MX fancy tinkering; just a low or zero cost way for customers to retain an existing email address when they change ISP's.

The problem now is the lowest cost option maybe something like a $20 per month dial-up account or as more ISP's only sell in bundles - there is no option apart from staying put.

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mattwnz

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#617922 1-May-2012 14:05

Ragnor: No need at all given gmail, hotmail, yahoo provide free ISP independent accounts.

Xtra basicly subcontract out to yahoo which is a free service anyway, so that could be the way it is heading with other isps too in the future. But once you cancel a telecom braodband, you also lose that email address. That is why I think they should use the yahoo.co.nz domain instead of xtra.co.nz, then you won't lose the address.
The problem with isps doing email, is that the ISP has to provide support for that email addess, which costs a lot. Free is normally self serve with no additional support, while paid email you do get support, which businesses will pay for as they need good reliable email with support.
Also although on the face of it gmail may seem free, you are actually a product, not the cusomter. They scan all email for advertising, so there are privacy concerns over that, and what information they pass on to their advertisers.

mattwnz

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#617928 1-May-2012 14:06

coffeebaron:
Talkiet: No.

You asked, I answered... I think given the barriers (which others have touched on, and MANY more) it's just not feasible to do this.

I too wince when I see plumbers vans with 'jerrytheplumber@xtra.co.nz' on the side of it, but trying to do 'email portability' is just reinforcing a short sighted and deeply flawed behaviour.

The best way to solve this for people that care is to do it themselves. There's a one time hit (with LOTS of ways to mitigate the impact) that will leave people with a far better outcome.

Cheers - N

Disclaimer - I work for Telecom. It's right there, to the left of the post, but sometimes I feel the need to point it out, lest I be accused of just being a shill, for 'the man' :-)

It is definitely feasible, and Telecom has been able to do this for years - i.e. an email only or very cheap dial-up account.
Orcon do it for free (or at least last tiem I checked).
Vodafone use to do a $5 per month email only account.

I am not talking about any DNS MX fancy tinkering; just a low or zero cost way for customers to retain an existing email address when they change ISP's.

The problem now is the lowest cost option maybe something like a $20 per month dial-up account or as more ISP's only sell in bundles - there is no option apart from staying put.

Why would people do that though. You can buy a domain, and even get cheap email only hosting for about the same amount if not less, and that is an email address for life.

wasabi2k

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#617932 1-May-2012 14:09

The same business could get his address printed on the side of the vans - should we have street address portability too?

coffeebaron

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#617935 1-May-2012 14:10

mattwnz:
coffeebaron:
Talkiet: No.

You asked, I answered... I think given the barriers (which others have touched on, and MANY more) it's just not feasible to do this.

I too wince when I see plumbers vans with 'jerrytheplumber@xtra.co.nz' on the side of it, but trying to do 'email portability' is just reinforcing a short sighted and deeply flawed behaviour.

The best way to solve this for people that care is to do it themselves. There's a one time hit (with LOTS of ways to mitigate the impact) that will leave people with a far better outcome.

Cheers - N

Disclaimer - I work for Telecom. It's right there, to the left of the post, but sometimes I feel the need to point it out, lest I be accused of just being a shill, for 'the man' :-)

It is definitely feasible, and Telecom has been able to do this for years - i.e. an email only or very cheap dial-up account.
Orcon do it for free (or at least last tiem I checked).
Vodafone use to do a $5 per month email only account.

I am not talking about any DNS MX fancy tinkering; just a low or zero cost way for customers to retain an existing email address when they change ISP's.

The problem now is the lowest cost option maybe something like a $20 per month dial-up account or as more ISP's only sell in bundles - there is no option apart from staying put.

Why would people do that though. You can buy a domain, and even get cheap email only hosting for about the same amount if not less, and that is an email address for life.

Agree, but the reality is the uneducated non technical masses are stuck with ISP email addresses and to them it is the end of the world if it has to change (ok slight exaggeration, but you get the point).

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Wade

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#617949 1-May-2012 14:36

Migrating to gmail or the like is a far better option in the wider picture imho. Keep the two in tandem, send replies from GMail not ISP address, change your website logins to GMail etc and over a period of just a few months you will be all but fully transitioned.

The simplicity of multi-device support, data integrity, cloud document storage etc must be of greater benefit to the average Joe than a historic @xxxxxx.co.nz address?

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coffeebaron

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#617953 1-May-2012 14:50

Agree the goal is to move customer to a long term solution of a non-ISP email address; but still need a solution for that interim period.

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Jaxson

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#617954 1-May-2012 14:53

It seems the solution is just to migrate, and then you're free from then on. As was mentioned above, ISP almost should stop offering this now anyway, though they won't, as it ties you to them.

A lot has been done on the phone side of things to allow you to port numbers to new providers etc. (And with all the hassle associated with now an 021 is not always vodafone etc...). But what hasn't really been addressed is companies that offer the whole deal, line + internet + cell phone options, providing deals to only their own mobile networks etc. So we've freed up the mobile numbers etc, but that's of no use to someone who wants to move to another provider, but can't as there are too many ties to friends/family on another network.

(That's loosely tied to this discussion isn't it?!

)

mattwnz

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#617966 1-May-2012 15:19

Jaxson: It seems the solution is just to migrate, and then you're free from then on.? As was mentioned above, ISP almost should stop offering this now anyway, though they won't, as it ties you to them.

A lot has been done on the phone side of things to allow you to port numbers to new providers etc.? (And with all the hassle associated with now an 021 is not always vodafone etc...). But what hasn't really been addressed is companies that offer the whole deal, line + internet + cell phone options, providing deals to only their own mobile networks etc.? So we've freed up the mobile numbers etc, but that's of no use to someone who wants to move to another provider, but can't as there are too many ties to friends/family on another network.

(That's loosely tied to this discussion isn't it?! )

They also do it because otherwise many people wouldn't have an email address if they moved ISP, as they maybe using their other ISPs email address. So they basically have to provide one. I don't think it would look particularly professional for them to recommend a third party service, unless they have some relationship with that third party. An ISP not providing an email service could also be seen as a diminished service compared to the competing ISPs. I don't think they do it solely to lock people into an ISP, that is just one of the drawbacks with using an ISP email address.

Jaxson

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#617998 1-May-2012 17:59

mattwnz: I don't think they do it solely to lock people into an ISP

I fully agree. Just as outlined by the OP, it's an unfortunate place many users end up in.

josephhinvest

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#618016 1-May-2012 18:40

I was pretty pleased with my domain name purchase, it's just my surname! With a dot, mind you.
Was a bit disappointing to discover there's a whole country I'd never heard of, Sao Tome and Principe. (.st).
Bought my domain for 5 years, hopefully this will be pretty bullet proof
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oxnsox

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#618807 3-May-2012 12:03

I think ISP's could do a lot more to encourage users to register there own Domains, but I guess there is an element of 'Lock-in' once you're on an ISP domain, and I'm a good example of that.

Personally I've had an @ihug.co.nz since I got email, and VF charge me a fee each month to link it to my current service (which is with them)..... I don't entirely agree with that, since it's the same company.

I've had folk contact me thru that address for sooo long I don't want to change it. And although I've migrated some to another domain there will always be someone that pops thru that channel.... and that's enough for me to have to keep it active.

Regs

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#619824 4-May-2012 21:23

Wade: Migrating to gmail or the like is a far better option in the wider picture imho.

that just shifts the non-portability from one provider to another. what if you want to move from gmail when they start charging $$$$ for your big mailbox?

the *best* solution is to buy your domain and host it "somewhere". whether that is gmail/hotmail/ispmail etc it doesn't matter, as long as you own the domain.

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