# What email program should I use? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 10, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-email-program-should-i-use/444760 "2008-04-10T14:19:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-email-program-should-i-use/444760/1 "2008-04-10T14:19:26Z")
Pursuant to this: [Outlook express error help - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=463142) I’ve been using OE forever and ever, and now… Well… It’s borked. I’m looking for a good (free) email program that I can export my message rules and my address book (and perhaps even my mail) to. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![Juggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/juggler/32/3194_2.png) [@Juggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Juggler)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-email-program-should-i-use/444760/2 "2008-04-10T16:47:02Z")
Gmail? You gan get a program from google to import old mail. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-email-program-should-i-use/444760/3 "2008-04-10T17:05:16Z")
[Mozilla Thunderbird](http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/). ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2008, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-email-program-should-i-use/444760/4 "2008-04-10T17:14:56Z")
It’s not free, but I use Pocomail. ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-email-program-should-i-use/444760/5 "2008-04-11T02:28:55Z")
I suggest you take a look at the following link at [Techsupportalert.com](http://Techsupportalert.com). The category in their “46 Best Freeware Utilities” is “Best Free Email Client” and it is the category I edit: [The ultimate list of freeware utilities - Gizmo's Best](http://www.techsupportalert.com/best_46_free_utilities.htm#12) ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-email-program-should-i-use/444760/6 "2008-04-11T03:47:50Z")
I use [Mozilla Thunderbird](http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/), and i’m perfectly happy with it. I’m not sure how easy it is to export your message rules to Thunderbird, but shifting address books is no problem. I’ve been using Thunderbird for a few years now, and have never had any problems with it. It also stores emails in a standard mbox format, rather than in the proprietary formats used by Microsoft’s email programs. It doesn’t come with its own calendar built in, but the [Lightning](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/addon/2313) add-on is easy to install, and adds a calendar to Thunderbird. Other [add-ons](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/thunderbird/) hepl you customize it. ---
**Author:** ![Alpine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpine/32/17813_2.png) [@Alpine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpine)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-email-program-should-i-use/444760/7 "2008-04-11T14:28:02Z")
Another vote for Mozilla Thunderbird. I just started using it after having the Mozilla Suite, which I also liked. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-email-program-should-i-use/444760/8 "2008-04-11T17:21:02Z")
Another vote for Gmail. Unless your e-mail is confidential. You can access your mail anywhere, the spam filters are nearly 100% perfect, and you have gigabytes of storage. You can also download your Gmail to a regular mail client if you want to back your mail up. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-email-program-should-i-use/444760/9 "2008-04-11T17:46:08Z")
I used Eudora for years because it was free, then went to Outlook at home because I got used to it at work. With time, I will migrate to a free solution like Thunderbird or back to Eudora.