There’s an opportunity we get when we start our first email account. It’s also a responsibility. We get to name ourselves.
Perhaps we’re in college. We get an “.edu” account. This has already identified us as someone affiliated with a college or university. Many times, our email ID will already have been chosen for us (first initial, last name, ID number, etc.), but if we have the freedom to name ourselves, we should go into the endeavor knowing that this name could be with us for years.
If we choose a name we later regret, we can always use a free, web-based account. These accounts, tagged “.com,” for commercial, are just that: commercial. That means that someone, somewhere, has paid for that account. If you didn’t then you can bet there’s some advertisement going out under your signature line on every email you send. That’s fine; it’s just good to know.
So, do you want to be yourself? A character? An attitude? It’s totally up to you.
A good rule of thumb is to keep at least two active email accounts. Use one for your “serious” communication (work, school, relevant pen pal-ing, etc.). The other account should be your “play” account. Use this one when people ask where they should forward funnies to you. It’s amazing; you will read the same urban legends, the same dirty jokes, over and over again. Many of these are BIG, and you don’t want to filter through them when you’re short on time. This is also a good account to use when filling out on-line mailing list forms… no telling what’ll start coming to your in-box. A third account could be useful if you subscribe to discussion groups or listservs. These high-traffic generators could also bog down a daily account.
The best news is this: almost all email accounts allow you to use a “pointer” function; serving to forward all of your emails to ONE, main account. So, managing loads of email addresses becomes easier.
Overall, just have fun with it. You can always rename yourself on your next account… or the next….
Who have I been?
bgillesp@uga.cc.uga.edu
bonnie@music.cc.uga.edu
scully@arches.uga.edu
bgillesp@coe.uga.edu
cibomatto@att.worldnet.net
gillespie@athensacademy.org
bonnie@athenstown.com
bonnie.gillespie@eudoramail.com
grrlzine98@hotmail.com
bonnieathene@netscape.net
funny.girl@ivillage.com
bonnie@whatthefuck.com
maid_of_honor@excite.com