# email services **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 26, 2000, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-services/20642 "2000-05-26T21:33:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![FarAniSOAD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@FarAniSOAD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FarAniSOAD)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2000, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-services/20642/1 "2000-05-26T21:33:16Z")
Hi guys I’ve finally convinced my family that AOL is NOT the best service in the entire world (contrary to their sad little belief) but they still are making a few demands before we switch over to a pretty lil T-3 line. I’m hoping you can help me with one of them. My little brother wants me to try to find an email service similar to AOL-including pretty fonts and colours and (hopefully) quick delivery and stuff like that. I’ve looked at Juno and I’d LOVE to find something like that (not having to deal through the internet directly like hotmail) but they didn’t offer the other things that my family insists on having. Can anyone help me out? Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2000, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-services/20642/2 "2000-05-26T21:40:59Z")
If you use another internet service provider that uses POP3 or IMAP4 e-mail, you can use a program like Eudora, or Netscape Mail (the mail program built-in to Netscape Communicator, the web browser) or Outlook to format e-mails with different fonts and colours. Of course, the person you’re e-mailing will have to be using a program that can interpret the mail format of the program sending the e-mail, if they want to see the fonts and colours. ---
**Author:** ![Akatsukami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea666f/32.png) [@Akatsukami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Akatsukami)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2000, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-services/20642/3 "2000-05-26T21:49:58Z")
Any e-mail program that is HTML-aware can do the font-color-etcetera thing (whether it’s a _good_ idea to be swapping HTML documents as e-mail is another question, but that’s not what the OP is about). I use both Outlook Express and Netscape Messenger for my own e-mail, and both are HTML-aware. There _are_ e-mail programs that are not aware, so it’s a good idea to have a program that can switch between HTML and plaintext (which, again, both Outlook Express and Netscape Messenger are). The ISP that is chosen has nothing to do with how things look in your inbasket. It should be noted that AOL-to-AOL mail is an internal e-mail system that does _not_ go through the Internet. Basically, there are programs that provide every capability that AOL does without AOL. Just be aware that: [list=1] [li]You may to acquire a half a dozen such programs to get all of the capabilities that you want or need. Of course, if you _don’t_ want or the need the capability, don’t get the program, and it doesn’t take up space on your hard drive.[/li][li]Nothing will have the exact look and feel of AOL. Again, though, if you don’t like the look and feel of a particular program, you can toss it and try something else.[/li]AOL is not well managed and regulated. The Internet, however, is not managed or regulated _at all_; it can get weird out there. Since you obviously have a Web browser, you probably know that already, but I throw it in for the record. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2000, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-services/20642/4 "2000-05-26T22:07:51Z")
This is exactly the kind of “I’m looking for input” kind of question for which we created the new forum, **In My Humble Opinion**. I’ll move the thread over there now. Good luck finding a new email provider! ---
**Author:** ![Alpha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Alpha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2000, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-services/20642/5 "2000-05-27T14:53:19Z")
\*\* [http://www.chek.com/domains/index.php3\*\*](http://www.chek.com/domains/index.php3**) The best thing is it’s free, they won’t drop you for being absent a few months (like Hotmail) They have all the current features. And you can pick from hundred of “domain” names to match your personality. Sports fans? 50 names like [yourname@ubbullsfan.com](mailto:yourname@ubbullsfan.com), [steelersfan.org](http://steelersfan.org), [socceramerica.net](http://socceramerica.net), [onthefairway.com](http://onthefairway.com) [porschefan.com](http://porschefan.com) [budweiser.com](http://budweiser.com) [mustangfan.com](http://mustangfan.com) [brainpowerd.com](http://brainpowerd.com) [crystal-tokyo.com](http://crystal-tokyo.com) [fanboy.org](http://fanboy.org) ---
**Author:** ![X-files](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/76d3ee/32.png) [@X-files](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/X-files)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2000, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-services/20642/6 "2000-05-28T19:37:14Z")
I like AltaVista free email, because it lets you forward your mail without paying extra. Good for e-business email. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2000, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-services/20642/7 "2000-05-29T11:41:17Z")
Get any ISP to give you a POP3 email account and then use an email client as others have said. Might I recommend Eudora? It’s (IMHO) the best there is, and it isn’t vulnerable to those viruses and worms that Outlook is. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2000, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-services/20642/8 "2000-05-29T15:56:28Z")
I don’t have, but I like those cute little email only boxes, like the one from Cidco $100 & $10 month. Its a small little box with keyboard sits near your phone. Just plug it in & thats all you have to do. Touch screen. There is a vga color touch screen thing similar that does the web too for about $140.00 at Circuit city. ---
**Author:** ![FarAniSOAD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@FarAniSOAD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FarAniSOAD)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2000, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-services/20642/9 "2000-05-30T19:49:44Z")
hey guys thanks for the response so far; you’ve dropped quite a few options onto my plate that i didn’t realize i had. i’m downloading eudora right now…i’ll let you know how well that goes. i’m looking foward to seeing what other responses i get. thanks again! i knew i could count on you. ---
**Author:** ![Antene1941](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Antene1941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antene1941)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2015, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-services/20642/10 "2015-07-15T18:15:34Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > Get any ISP to give you a POP3 email account and then use an email client as others have said. Might I recommend Eudora? It’s (IMHO) the best there is, and it isn’t vulnerable to those viruses and worms that Outlook is. ISP based email accounts are pretty good, in my opinion. You might also want to check out G-Mail and HotMail, they are pretty good too. I wouldn’t use Yahoo Mail though as we had problems with them. ---
**Author:** ![CinnamonBabka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bbce88/32.png) [@CinnamonBabka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CinnamonBabka)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2015, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-services/20642/11 "2015-07-15T18:42:37Z")
How many 15 year old threads are going to be bumped today? ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2015, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/email-services/20642/12 "2015-07-15T18:50:01Z")
We’ll hope this is the last. **Antene1941** , I see you’ve noticed in another thread that you had been reviving old threads, so thank you for that. We try not to do that here unless there’s a very good reason, since often the original contributors are no longer around to respond, or the question or issue is simply no longer relevant. I’ll close this one.