Pobox.com is my alternative to Gmail

[jesse_the_k]

migrated from a comment elseweb

My first email address was provided by my ISP (and a 19k modem). In the next five years, my ISP changed three times. I realized I needed a permanent address and I didn't want to mess around with my own server.

In March 2002, two companies provided end-user permanent email addresses, and I got accounts at both of them. Pobox.com offered two years of POP/IMAP service for $30, so I splurged. Fastmail, the other company, bought Pobox four years ago. Fastmail is based on Australia, so there's some insulation from the US police state (but not total, like Protonmail.com's Swiss service).

Pobox offers tutorials for transferring from Gmail (as well as Outlook, iCloud and Yahoo), Their email support is friendly and thorough and I've had a total of one outage in the last 17 years.

Currently it's $50/year for Mailstore service, and I'm happy to pay it. This includes Calendar/Contacts syncing and a couple gigs of file storage -- I have no photo experience to share. They offer a very nice
web interface, (with filters and smart folders and all) as well iOS/Android apps (although I use Mail.app with Mac/iPhone).

"Mail fetch" is a nifty feature I use to get mail from other providers — I have some throwaway accounts at cheap/free hosts like mail.com and null.net, and I've been using it this year to grab my Gmail as I sunset those accounts.

If you have your own domain, they're happy to handle your email there.

Because I started emailing back in the 90s, I maintain my Eudora-like workflow although I'm using the IMAP protocol. That is, I keep all my mail on my own computer and delete it from Pobox's servers. So I can't speak to what it's like to search a decade's archive over the web. They do offer a 30-day free trial, so check it out!

Comments

[runpunkrun]

I maintain my Eudora-like workflow literally by still using Eudora. I am a large, slow-moving dinosaur. :D

Nice to know about the email options out there. Thanks!

[jesse_the_k]

Wow! A true Weltonian, still living at the post office.

(I can’t recall your religion platform, but I don’t think Eudora is even available for Mac Mojave.)

[runpunkrun]

I'm on Windows 8.1 and using a VERY OLD copy of Eudora that still works, more or less. I tried Mozilla Thunderbird once and did not like it, and since then have not searched out any other options.

[siljamus]

Thank you for this write up. It is very helpful.

[jesse_the_k]

<3

[firecat]

Thanks, I keep meaning to get rid of gmail...

[mdlbear]

So do I.

[jesse_the_k]

It’s a long drawn out procedure, and I spread the work out over a year.

Step one is discovering all the places you’ve logged in with a gmail account or with Google’s single sign on. (Step zero is getting a password manager to make this process a hella lot easier the next time.)

[mdlbear]

Actually step 0 is getting your own domain so that you can take it with you when you change providers. I do have a few logins based on my gmail address, but almost all are one or the other of my personal domain (last-name dot net) or my (old) household domain (thestarport dot org, based on the name we gave our house in San Jose: Grand Central Starport).

In my case, the hard part would be untangling the current collection of mixed-up forwardings and overflowing mailboxes.

[jesse_the_k]

I've wanted to be someone who could handle step 0 since around 1998, but I never became her.

[ljwrites]

Oh man, Eudora was my first mail client and this writeup hits me with the nostalgia. I'm not sure why I stopped using it in favor of Thunderbird, maybe because Thunderbird is free? And now I'm on Mac OS X Mail, which is adequate but nothing special.

My primary gmail account is getting a bit full and it's time to at least store my mail elsewhere, including probably locally with backup. This looks like a nice place to start looking, so thanks for the info!

[jesse_the_k]

Happy to help in any way.

Around every five years I transfer three years worth of mail to an archive file. I don't know why I keep the archive--I've never had the reason to search them. The good news is that digital hoarding doesn't attract dust or take up much space.

[vass]

Fastmail is based on Australia, so there's some insulation from the US police state

Speaking as an Australian, I would be incredibly wary of expecting our government to protect you from any police state, including itself.

[jesse_the_k]

Good to know!