# Company email address format **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 6, 2004, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/company-email-address-format/223022 "2004-01-06T15:51:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/company-email-address-format/223022/1 "2004-01-06T15:51:23Z")
Sort of a poll, but definately mundane and pointless… My work email looks like this - _firstinitial_._surname_@_companyname_.org.uk What does yours look like? Grim :rolleyes: it’s the afternoon! ---
**Author:** ![VenusProbe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e495f1/32.png) [@VenusProbe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VenusProbe)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/company-email-address-format/223022/2 "2004-01-06T16:53:48Z")
_[firstname.middleinitial.lastname@companyname.com](mailto:firstname.middleinitial.lastname@companyname.com)_ ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/company-email-address-format/223022/3 "2004-01-06T16:59:17Z")
_[firstname.lastname@nl.companyname.com](mailto:firstname.lastname@nl.companyname.com)_ The nl part is interesting. It’s of course the code for the Netherlands. People in our London offices have UK where I have NL. Americans have US. Germans have DE, et cetera. What this adds, I don’t really know: clients tend to know which country they are in, and it only causes bogus e-mail addresses when someone moves from one country to another for work reasons. I know some Americans who’ve worked here for 5 years, and still have the US part in their e-mail addies. Weird. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/company-email-address-format/223022/4 "2004-01-06T17:04:42Z")
_initials@department.governmententity.stateinitials.countryinitials_ And thats just because I’m an old-timer. Newbies are _firstnameinitiallastname@department.governmententity.stateinitials.countryinitials_! ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/company-email-address-format/223022/5 "2004-01-06T17:25:54Z")
_[firstinitiallastname@companyname.com](mailto:firstinitiallastname@companyname.com)_ ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Matrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/34f0e0/32.png) [@Red\_Matrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Matrix)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/company-email-address-format/223022/6 "2004-01-06T17:48:33Z")
_[whateveriwantedatthetimeiregistered@companyname.com](mailto:whateveriwantedatthetimeiregistered@companyname.com)_ ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/company-email-address-format/223022/7 "2004-01-06T18:03:15Z")
_[firstname.lastname@companyname.com](mailto:firstname.lastname@companyname.com)_ is standard, but since I’ve been here awhile _[firstinitialmiddleinitiallastname@companyname.com](mailto:firstinitialmiddleinitiallastname@companyname.com)_ still works as well. ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/company-email-address-format/223022/8 "2004-01-06T18:30:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Red Matrix \* > \*\*_[whateveriwantedatthetimeiregistered@companyname.com](mailto:whateveriwantedatthetimeiregistered@companyname.com)_ \*\* Long live conformity!! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/company-email-address-format/223022/9 "2004-01-06T18:35:17Z")
[firstname.lastname@company.com](mailto:firstname.lastname@company.com). At my previous job, I was [firstinitiallastname@company.com](mailto:firstinitiallastname@company.com), but I asked for and got [firstname@company.com](mailto:firstname@company.com) as a redirect to me. Not that I ever used it, though. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/company-email-address-format/223022/10 "2004-01-06T18:35:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Red Matrix \* > \*\*_[whateveriwantedatthetimeiregistered@companyname.com](mailto:whateveriwantedatthetimeiregistered@companyname.com)_ \*\* This is what I have as well. ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/company-email-address-format/223022/11 "2004-01-06T19:17:22Z")
We don’t have individual email accounts, but each department has a computer used for jobs done in that department, so the email addresses to the account on each computer is [DepartmentStorenumber@companyname.com](mailto:DepartmentStorenumber@companyname.com) ---
**Author:** ![Meros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Meros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meros)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/company-email-address-format/223022/12 "2004-01-06T19:38:20Z")
_first.middle.last@company.edu_ or _userid@company.edu_ or _whateveryouwant@company.edu_ I have a tendency to use the second two interchangeabley. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/company-email-address-format/223022/13 "2004-01-06T20:04:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ultrafilter \* > \*\*This is what I have as well. \*\* No limitations? I assume there were rules about vulgarity, but if you wanted to have _[fetchezlavache@company.com](mailto:fetchezlavache@company.com)_, you could? Neato. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/company-email-address-format/223022/14 "2004-01-07T00:23:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by VenusProbe \* > \*\*_[firstname.middleinitial.lastname@companyname.com](mailto:firstname.middleinitial.lastname@companyname.com)_ \*\* same here. ---
**Author:** ![Horseflesh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horseflesh/32/7502_2.png) [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/company-email-address-format/223022/15 "2004-01-07T00:32:30Z")
_[firstthreelettersoffirstnamelastname@propertyname.companyname.com](mailto:firstthreelettersoffirstnamelastname@propertyname.companyname.com)_ Normally its just first initial & last name but 2 other people in the company also have this combo so we just draw the first name out until it’s unique. But being the email admin is fun, I’ve created some interesting account names for testing (and also for screwing around and emailing my internet homies). ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/company-email-address-format/223022/16 "2004-01-07T00:41:44Z")
_[firstnamelastinitial@companyname.org](mailto:firstnamelastinitial@companyname.org)_ I also get: _[info@companyname.org](mailto:info@companyname.org)_ and _[restoration@companyname.org](mailto:restoration@companyname.org)_. Yippee. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/company-email-address-format/223022/17 "2004-01-07T01:09:49Z")
New IDs here are firstname.(optional)middleinitial.lastname@here _slug.sigornio@here_ Older ones like mine are first 6 letters of last name, first initial, middle initial@here in other words, Slug would be _sigorns@here_ REALLY old IDs are like #2, but with a “z” in front. If Slug were a 10-year veteran, he’d be _zsigorns@here._ ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/company-email-address-format/223022/18 "2004-01-07T01:22:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Coldfire \* > **No limitations? I assume there were rules about vulgarity, but if you wanted to have _[fetchezlavache@company.com](mailto:fetchezlavache@company.com)_, you could?** We would probably be strongly discouraged using obscene addresses in a professional context, but I don’t think there’s any inherent limitation. However, we share our pool of email addresses with our customers, so there’s a good chance that anything vulgar or profane is already taken. For those who are nosy, no, the email address in my profile is not my work email address. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/company-email-address-format/223022/19 "2004-01-07T01:28:17Z")
I’m glad this thread is here because I’ve been wanting to discuss this: I work for a city, or as many cities are legally known, a “municipal corporation.” It’s not Seattle, but for the purposes of this discussion let’s pretend it’s Seattle. Since the beginning of cities being online, the format has been near-universal: _[firstinitiallastname@ci.seattle.wa.us](mailto:firstinitiallastname@ci.seattle.wa.us)_ and the website has been thus: _[www.ci.seattle.wa.us](http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us)_. OK sure, the order of all those elements is not necessarily intuitive, but once you’ve learned it, you’ve got the web and email addresses of every city employee in the United States. I have a friend who works for Glendale, CA, and I email her there all the time – I don’t need to memorize anything; I already know the format, and so do you, if you know that Glendale is in CA and have been paying attention. Well, things are changing. Too many residents have squawked about how confusing all that “.ci” and “.us” stuff is, so we’ve changed our address to the deceptively simple _[www.seattle.gov](http://www.seattle.gov)_ or _[firstinitiallastname@seattle.gov](mailto:firstinitiallastname@seattle.gov)_. (Again, it’s not actually Seattle.) The trend is catching on – everybody’s doing this now. Sounds great, but the unity of form has been shattered. Now when I contact other cities, I’m no longer sure. Some have gotten the coveted _.gov_ domain. Some have settled for _.com_ or _.org_. Some get to use just their city’s name, but if it’s a common name, they have to resort to addresses like _[www.the-city-of-springfield.org](http://www.the-city-of-springfield.org)_, which is completely unguessable compared to the fully logical _[www.ci.springfield.il.us](http://www.ci.springfield.il.us)_. (For the third time, these examples are made up – I don’t know if Springfield, Illinois has made the switch yet or not.) Anyway, it pisses me off. Instead of _knowing_ people’s web and email addresses, I now have to look them up every time. We have fixed what wasn’t broken and created an utter mess out of what was a beautiful system, all because some citizens are put off by scary-sounding syllables like “.ci”. :rolleyes: I suppose I’ll get over it, but thanks for the opportunity to vent. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2004, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/company-email-address-format/223022/20 "2004-01-07T02:03:09Z")
It used to be _[firstinitiallastname@company.com](mailto:firstinitiallastname@company.com)_ and I think that will still work even, but now it’s _[firstname.lastname@company.com](mailto:firstname.lastname@company.com)_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/company-email-address-format/223022.md?page=2)