Learning how to Email
When I was a kid on the internet, I wanted to play Roblox. However, to make an account, it required me to use an email. I didn’t have one, so I googled how to acquire one and came across Gmail. I created a Google account and then created my first email: kadenplayzroblox@gmail.com.
I used this email everywhere. And so, after a couple of years, spam, newsletters, and promotions for hundreds of different services flooded this email’s inbox. So I created a new email with Gmail. And then a couple of years later, the same thing happened. I figured that this was just how email worked and that most people just sort of ‘dealt with it.’ I, however, found it annoying, so I sought out another email address. But this time I wanted to use a different email provider. So I googled “best email provider Reddit” and found ProtonMail. So I created an account. And the same thing happened.
Over the years, I have created countless different emails, all of which became abandoned after the inboxes became flooded with useless junk. That was until very recently, when I decided that I would actually learn how to use email properly.
When I scoured Reddit this time, however, I came across two pieces of advice that I feel are extremely valuable.
Have a Custom Domain
The first piece of advice was to have your own custom domain. This advice is primarily useful for appearing professional and stuff like that. However, it’s also very useful for emails. Of course, it’s nice to tell someone, “My email is email@{first_name}{last_name}.” But it’s also valuable for switching email providers. If you were to go from having an email that ends in @gmail.com and then switching to an email that ends in @proton.me, you would have to go back to your accounts on various services and update your email, which is a pain. If you have your own custom domain, however, you don’t need to do that. Your email is going to look the exact same; you just have a different email provider.
The main thing that worried me regarding custom domains was that they cost money. I wasn't sure how much money they cost, but I knew that some domains were quite expensive. In my mind the idea of having a .com domain was unrealistic, and it would cost far too much money. But I have learned that is not true.
I went to Reddit (again), and looked for "best domain registrars" and came across Porkbun. I put in my first and last name, and it immediately came up saying that I could purchase the domain kadennewton.com for only $11/year. This domain would cost me a measly 3 cents per day. So, of course I bought 2 years immediately for $22. I now owned a custom domain.
What Email Provider?
When it comes to email providers, one of the main things that people on Reddit are concerned about is privacy. They want their emails to be encrypted, and they don't want anybody to be able to read their personal emails. Because of this, they frequently recommend email providers like Proton and Tuta. These are great email providers, but there's another factor that I feel is very important, and that's speed and ease of use. When I used Proton, I was frequently annoyed by how long it took me to log into my email and then to be able to access it. The reason it took so long is that the email is secure, and I have to decrypt all of my emails and bla bla bla. I am an impatient person. So instead I went with Fastmail.
Fastmail is highly recommended on Reddit because of how nice it is to use. And it is. Their security is not as advanced regarding the technology that they use. Your emails are not encrypted, meaning Fastmail could, theoretically, read your emails. And the only thing preventing them from doing so is that they have certain values that they promise to uphold, among other things. They have a good reputation, and I genuinely haven't seen a single person complain about them that actually uses them. They're also really fast, have a super clean UI, and have a desktop application for Linux. Their pricing isn't too crazy; they support the usage of custom domains, masked email, a nice calendar, and the ability to create up to 600 email aliases.
Aliases
This is the second piece of advice that I found, and it cannot be overstated how valuable aliases are.
Aliases allow you to use different email addresses that point to the same inbox. This allows you to create a unique email address for every service you use, such as steam@domain.com or git@domain.com. This prevents sites from having access to your primary email, which serves to protect you from the issues that I experienced. If one of your emails is exposed to some bad website and a bunch of spam starts coming your way, you now know which email it is that has been "infected". Instead of having to just 'deal with it,' you can simply disable that alias. If you really need an email for that service, you can create a new alias, change your email for that service specifically, and then disable the old one. It makes everything so much easier.
Conclusion
Email is pervasive on the internet, and you're going to use your email a lot. Whether that be for signing up for services or communicating with other people, it's something that everybody is going to use. So it's probably important that you have a setup that is easy to use and that protects you from the mountains of unwanted emails in your inbox.
I don't even use email all that much, to be honest, but it's really nice that when I do need to use my email, it's enjoyable and easy to.