# Which email provider is best? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 1, 2000, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-email-provider-is-best/18218 "2000-05-01T03:30:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sylence](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b19c9b/32.png) [@Sylence](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylence)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-email-provider-is-best/18218/1 "2000-05-01T03:30:36Z")
For the past three years I’ve been using my college email account to send and receive email. Since I’m graduating next year, I think the time has come to get myself another email address set up and working. So. . . what would you recommend? Hotmail? Juno? Yahoo? Which one do you think is the best? – Sylence ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-email-provider-is-best/18218/2 "2000-05-01T04:08:37Z")
Don’t use Hotmail unless they have a gun to your head. And even then you might want to think twice about it. True, it has been quite some time since they lost all messages in my inbox and folders, but my sister still uses it, and it was only a couple weeks ago that they lost all the messages in _her_ inbox. ---
**Author:** ![hightechburrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/f6c823/32.png) [@hightechburrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hightechburrito)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-email-provider-is-best/18218/3 "2000-05-01T05:32:58Z")
I have never had a problem with my Yahoo email. It is tons better than my ISP email. This is because I get tons of spam with my ISP email, yet none with the Yahoo address. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-email-provider-is-best/18218/4 "2000-05-01T05:41:04Z")
The biggest advantage to Hotmail is that you can access it through Outlook Express 5 and keep the messages you want on your computer. ---
**Author:** ![chief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df788c/32.png) [@chief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chief)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-email-provider-is-best/18218/5 "2000-05-01T06:16:51Z")
ive used yahoo mail for about 2-3 years and its great its fast, lots of features and is integrated into a lot of the other yahoo services. i highly recommend yahoo mail… i havent lost any mail or it wasnt down for long periods of time either ---
**Author:** ![Sylence](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b19c9b/32.png) [@Sylence](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylence)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-email-provider-is-best/18218/6 "2000-05-01T06:37:27Z")
Two votes for Yahoo, one for Hotmail, and one against Hotmail. Okay. . . But are there any others I might think about checking out besides the ones I named? – Sylence ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-email-provider-is-best/18218/7 "2000-05-01T07:09:41Z")
Well, my college provides free lifetime email for alumni, but I’m guessing you don’t qualify. Personally, I have my college email address forward to my yahoo address. I like yahoo mainly for the other services they offer, which you can see at [my.yahoo.com](http://my.yahoo.com). Plus, they have POP access, so I can download it to my computer, using Microsoft Outlook 2000. I also use yahoo Messenger, which alerts me as soon as I have email, then I download it. If I’m not at my computer, I can check my email over the web, then download it to my computer when I get back. I haven’t had any more serious problems than a couple hours of my email being inaccessible, and I can’t even remember the last time that happened. ---
**Author:** ![swisemankcmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@swisemankcmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swisemankcmo)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-email-provider-is-best/18218/8 "2000-05-01T12:34:40Z")
I would probably vote for Yahoo even though I have both Yahoo and Hotmail addresses. Just reminds me of one of the funnier things I’ve seen on the internet. I was on Hotmail before Microsoft bought them out, so I still remember the message the Hotmail CEO sent us at the time of the buyout: “Hotmail is merging with Microsoft!” I about blew soda out of my nose. Would that be like a bait worm saying “I’m about to merge with that bass out there”? Hotmail, you got eaten. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-email-provider-is-best/18218/9 "2000-05-01T13:17:14Z")
I have Hotmail, Yahoo, as well as [http://www.Mail.com](http://www.Mail.com) addresses. I primarily use [mail.com](http://mail.com) now. It’s the newest of the three, you have a better chance of getting the username you want. Also, I hate the way that Yahoo bundles forwarded email. Nothing as annoying as opening a joke or URL that you have to open 6 attchments to get to. OK, maybe there are some things as annoying, but…we won’t get into that. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-email-provider-is-best/18218/10 "2000-05-01T14:49:22Z")
Some give you attachment permission & some don’t. Some let you have larger mail boxes & larger attachments. I don’t have a preference that you can choose because I use an ISP & that way i don’t get ads… Pacific Bell has a new email machine, $129 after rebate & $10 month. Just plug it in. ---
**Author:** ![Sylence](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b19c9b/32.png) [@Sylence](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylence)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-email-provider-is-best/18218/11 "2000-05-01T20:50:14Z")
I have no problem with getting more than one account. . . I’ll try Yahoo and see how it works. Still open for suggestions, though. – Sylence ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-email-provider-is-best/18218/12 "2000-05-01T21:04:46Z")
I stumbled onto mailandnews: [http://www.mailandnews.com](http://www.mailandnews.com) and now use it. No ads, POP and WAP access; almost too good to be true. ---
**Author:** ![Anti\_Pro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Anti\_Pro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anti_Pro)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2000, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-email-provider-is-best/18218/13 "2000-05-02T01:31:42Z")
## NetAddress is the e mail provider and my ISP is NetZero, all free, but the downside is tons of spam and X rated stuff. If you don’t care about THAT, then that would be my recommendation. I’ve never lost anything, and have had the account for three years. Judy ---
**Author:** ![Geenius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f475e1/32.png) [@Geenius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geenius)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2000, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-email-provider-is-best/18218/14 "2000-05-02T02:11:15Z")
You get what you pay for. Period. If you want free E-mail service, expect to get the kind of service that you would never pay for. There is no substitute for a good local ISP. Check the Yellow Pages. ---
**Author:** ![anyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e19b73/32.png) [@anyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anyi)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2000, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-email-provider-is-best/18218/15 "2000-05-02T02:33:50Z")
Yahoo makes you go through multiple pages before they show you your e-mail. Excite will get you there a lot faster (you can even bookmark your inbox page – they’ll give you a logon screen first), and has a neat page where you can see a bar showing you how much space you have left. The page is rather cluttered, but they all are to some degree. I prefer Excite. Annie ---
**Author:** ![EnigmaOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EnigmaOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnigmaOne)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2000, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-email-provider-is-best/18218/16 "2000-05-02T07:48:06Z")
I’ll second the [http://www.mail.com](http://www.mail.com) suggestion. So far their service has been excellent. The perks are somewhat cozy as well. ---
**Author:** ![Glenoled](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Glenoled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glenoled)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2000, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-email-provider-is-best/18218/17 "2000-05-02T12:13:52Z")
Raza… I’ve been on [mailandnews.com](http://mailandnews.com) for a month or so, and it’s the best non-ISP email I’ve found… I very highly recommend it. I have it set for POP, and works really slick… [http://www.mailandnews.com](http://www.mailandnews.com) ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2000, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-email-provider-is-best/18218/18 "2000-05-02T22:08:46Z")
I have a TON of free email addresses and the main advantage is they are quite permanent while I have lost a few over the years when I changed ISPs. Here’s the rundown: Hotmail: never had any emails lost, can be used with Outlook Express 5 and from any other computer using a browser yahoo: it is POP3 so you can also use OE5 or a browser MSGTO, netzero and softhome are also POP3… Junk mail I think depends more on how you use your email than the specific address I recommend using several so that you always have a backup when one has problems (they all do ocassionally). ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2000, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-email-provider-is-best/18218/19 "2000-05-02T23:05:08Z")
Well sailor, my ISP [& a few others] give you as many email accts as you want if you buy from them. Don’t even have to do anything after the first acct. In other words, suppose you have [http://www.potheads.com](http://www.potheads.com) & your email address of [mike@pothead.com](mailto:mike@pothead.com) If anyone sent email to any variation of: "@pothead.com’ it could come into the mail box of [mike@pothead.com](mailto:mike@pothead.com). Thus all the email addresses, [questions@pothead.com](mailto:questions@pothead.com) [sales@pothead.com](mailto:sales@pothead.com) etc forever unlimited variations, would all send the mail to that one box. cool! ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2000, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-email-provider-is-best/18218/20 "2000-05-02T23:54:00Z")
maybe that is useful for you but I do not find it useful for me. My problem is that I seem to switch ISPs fairly often and the free email accounts are the best way for people to keep track of me. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-email-provider-is-best/18218.md?page=2)