this post was submitted on 09 Jan 2024
99 points (96.3% liked)

Selfhosted

39980 readers
786 users here now

A place to share alternatives to popular online services that can be self-hosted without giving up privacy or locking you into a service you don't control.

Rules:

  1. Be civil: we're here to support and learn from one another. Insults won't be tolerated. Flame wars are frowned upon.

  2. No spam posting.

  3. Posts have to be centered around self-hosting. There are other communities for discussing hardware or home computing. If it's not obvious why your post topic revolves around selfhosting, please include details to make it clear.

  4. Don't duplicate the full text of your blog or github here. Just post the link for folks to click.

  5. Submission headline should match the article title (don’t cherry-pick information from the title to fit your agenda).

  6. No trolling.

Resources:

Any issues on the community? Report it using the report flag.

Questions? DM the mods!

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

I have a unique name, think John Doe, and I'm hoping to create a unique and "professional" looking email account like [email protected] or [email protected]. Since my name is common, all reasonable permutations are taken. I was considering purchasing a domain with something unique, then making personal family email accounts for [email protected] [email protected] etc.

Consider that I'm starting from scratch (I am). Is there a preferred domain registrar, are GoDaddy or NameCheap good enough? Are there prebuilt services I can just point my domain to or do I need to spin up a VPS and install my own services? Are there concerns tying my accounts to a service that might go under or are some "too big to fail"?

I can expand what hangs off the domain later, but for now I just need a way to make my own email addresses and use them with the relative ease of Gmail or others. Thanks in advance!!

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (2 children)

I’d avoid Google, they don’t have a stable offering

What you you mean by not stable?

I've been (stuck with) Google Workspace for many, many years - I was grandfathered out from the old G-Suite plans. The biggest issue for me is that all my Play store purchases for my Android are tied to my Workspace's identity, and there's no way to unhook that if I move.

I want to move. I have serious trust issues with Google. But I can't stop paying for Workspaces, as it means I'd lose all my Android purchases. It's Hotel fucking California.

But I've always found the email to be stable, reliable, and the spam filtering is top notch (after they acquired and rolled Postini into the service).

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I tore that bandwidth off a while ago. Same thing with trust issues and google.

Since then I set up a family account and use a regular Gmail account for app store purchases so I can change provider at any time. Can share most of my app purchases with family. I don't actually check the gmail email. Just use it for Android services.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

Yeah, that's the other thing that shits me. Paying for my wife and I on Workspaces, and we don't have family sharing rights. We're literally paying to be treated like second-class citizens!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I mean, they kill services willy nilly. Sure Gmail will probably survive, but the rest drove me away (Reader, Music, ...).

Regarding your Android purchases: At the time of my move I went through my list of apps I bought and tallied the ones up, that I still used. It was less than $50 of repurchases.

Don't let those old purchases hold you back. Cut this old baggage loose.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (2 children)

At the time of my move I went through my list of apps I bought and tallied the ones up, that I still used. It was less than $50 of repurchases.

Yeah, I know this what I should do too. As someone else said in this comment thread, gotta tear that bandaid off at some point. Just shits me that I should have to. But the freedom after doing it... <chef's kiss>

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

One warning, though: After moving, you'll probably need another Google account again, to use the Play Store... it sucks.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago

Yeah, still got my ancient free Gmail account going. Will probably revert to that.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

"But I shouldn't have to" is a trap, everywhere it occurs. It cripples one's ability to act on an emotional level, and manifests as all kinds of resistances and avoidances that ultimately prevent you from seeing the problem clearly - and if you somehow do see the problem clearly, you still don't want to do anything about it.

The world owes you nothing. You exist. If you want love and fairness and a reasonable world, love and be fair and be reasonable, and choose to work together with those who are. Where you work, what you spend your time on, where you spend your money, and who you spend your time with are your places of impact. Don't let others steal that - particularly over 'but I shouldn't have to defend myself.'