# Wow - I've had my Hotmail account for over 10 years...you? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 7, 2007, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-ive-had-my-hotmail-account-for-over-10-years-you/425540 "2007-11-07T13:56:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2007, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-ive-had-my-hotmail-account-for-over-10-years-you/425540/41 "2007-11-08T20:02:36Z")
[QUOTE=GuanoLad] Aha. According to the new fancy way that Hotmail’s set up, it includes the date of when I first joined: 2 October, 1998 [/QUOTE] Where? I had a quick look on mine but couldn’t find a join-up date. ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2007, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-ive-had-my-hotmail-account-for-over-10-years-you/425540/42 "2007-11-08T20:13:07Z")
[QUOTE=jjimm] So, what reasons has everyone let theirs lapse? Me, it was primarily the spam. [/QUOTE] Gmail. ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2007, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-ive-had-my-hotmail-account-for-over-10-years-you/425540/43 "2007-11-08T21:45:49Z")
I never let mine lapse, partly for odd sentimental reasons, partly in case someone who only has that address from way back when sends me a message - it still happens from time to time. I’ve always had a main account (in 1996 we also got work e-mail accounts, and subsequently btinternet at home) and used hotmail when travelling - that was before webmail. Once I got onto Gmail, it became my main account, and as I said, I keep hotmail and check it just frequently enough to keep it from lapsing. I got [firstinitialmiddleinitiallastname@hotmail.com](mailto:firstinitialmiddleinitiallastname@hotmail.com) but my name is unusual so even if I registered today I’d probably still get it - I have the same ID for Gmail. Incidentally, my first work e-mail address from 1996 has never been cancelled even though I haven’t been a permanent staff member since 2000 - but I still work for them on short contracts/consultancies, and they have reactivated the [firstinitiallastname@organisationname.org.uk](mailto:firstinitiallastname@organisationname.org.uk) account successfully every time. I’m working for them again at the moment and get stuff from mailing lists I was on over a decade ago, as well as things like CNN alerts on Haiti from when I was working there (2004/5). ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2007, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-ive-had-my-hotmail-account-for-over-10-years-you/425540/44 "2007-11-08T21:51:53Z")
I’ve had my Yahoo account since May 7, 1998. It’s pretty amazing since I had applied and gotten “[username]2” where as now, I probably couldn’t get the same username unless it was followed by at least 3 digits. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2007, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-ive-had-my-hotmail-account-for-over-10-years-you/425540/45 "2007-11-08T21:58:21Z")
[QUOTE=Martha] Where? I had a quick look on mine but couldn’t find a join-up date. [/QUOTE] I went to inbox/options/more options/view and edit your personal information. My join up date was July 29, 1998 ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2007, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-ive-had-my-hotmail-account-for-over-10-years-you/425540/46 "2007-11-08T22:02:35Z")
[QUOTE=Khadaji] I got AOL in 1995. This means that I got one of the early login names. Like if I were tom smith mine would be [tsmith@aol.com](mailto:tsmith@aol.com) rather than the [tsmith823@aol.com](mailto:tsmith823@aol.com) This means that I get _a lot_ of email for other people. People forget to put on the numeric extension, or they add [aol.com](http://aol.com) when they meant [fredsdrycleaning.com](http://fredsdrycleaning.com) or well, whatever. This has made for some interesting times of the years. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I was going to say the same thing…I first got it when it was still AOL for DOS…this was back in mid-1991; I had just left home for college…it was an hourly rate, so thank god there wasn’t the massive porn there is today or I would have gone bankrupt! I got my real name (because even though I got my real name, all the Star Wars names, my first choices, were already taken - I think they were the first to go.) It’s still my primary account, even though I quit subscribing a year or two back, and I still get mail for other people, some of who have threatened me for “stealing someone else’s mail.” Man, I never really thought about it before, but I’ve had that address for over 16 years now…wow… ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2007, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-ive-had-my-hotmail-account-for-over-10-years-you/425540/47 "2007-11-08T22:25:10Z")
Bingo! October 30th 1997 - almost 10 years ago to the day, and just before I went to work in Central America for two months - I remember using it from there - but it wasn’t 1996 after all. It was the work account that dates back to 1996. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2007, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-ive-had-my-hotmail-account-for-over-10-years-you/425540/48 "2007-11-09T07:02:34Z")
May 7, 1997. I seem to recall that I signed up because I was about to move to another state and wanted an address I could carry from one location to another. I hardly ever check it now; no one writes me at that address. I do find it interesting that there’s a screenwriters’ mailing list I signed up for way back in '97 or so, and I _still_ have a few e-mails from them every time I log into the Hotmail account. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2007, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-ive-had-my-hotmail-account-for-over-10-years-you/425540/49 "2007-11-09T10:38:56Z")
I still have my hotmail account from way back in 97/98. I can’t determine the exact start date as the early emails were in the small inbox period and got dumped regularly. Sadly, the emails from my g/f in the early days of our relationship all got wiped when I broke the 30 day deadline for logging in :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2007, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-ive-had-my-hotmail-account-for-over-10-years-you/425540/50 "2007-11-09T16:47:55Z")
I have my emails from 1991 on. There’s a gap between 1993-94. Those were lost. ---
**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:** [November 9, 2007, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-ive-had-my-hotmail-account-for-over-10-years-you/425540/51 "2007-11-09T19:28:38Z")
[QUOTE=dalej42] I went to inbox/options/more options/view and edit your personal information. My join up date was July 29, 1998 [/QUOTE] Thanks I would have never found that! Registered since: April 15, 1997 Do I win? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2007, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-ive-had-my-hotmail-account-for-over-10-years-you/425540/52 "2007-11-10T02:36:26Z")
[QUOTE=control-z] Thanks I would have never found that! Registered since: April 15, 1997 Do I win? 😃 [/QUOTE] Damn! You’ve made me look, and found that I was mistaken on myself: > [@](#): > > Registered since: July 01, 1998 Well, here’s to next year. ::cheers:: Tripler But I can prove on another site ‘1995’. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wow-ive-had-my-hotmail-account-for-over-10-years-you/425540.md?page=2)