http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Should-ISPs-Forward-Email-When-You-Move-88755
Should ISPs Forward E-mail When You Move?
Miffed AOL user urges FCC to regulate e-mail…
02:21PM Wednesday Oct 24 2007 by Karl
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The post office will forward your mail to your new address when you move, and wireless phone carriers are required to port your number to your next provider. So should ISPs be forced to forward your mail to your new ISP? The FCC is exploring the requirement after an AOL customer claims she lost important business revenue when AOL canceled her account due to miscommunication.
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[Disclaimer: I work for an ISP, but not in any capacity other than a technology worker!]
In a word, NO!
I have been on record for a while that you, as an individual, should never be dependent upon anyone’s email address. Not your ISP. Not your boss. Not AOL! Not Yahoo!
Here’s the URL of one of my many pontifications on the subject: http://tinyurl.com/yq5kto
Now, for example, my Web Service Provider 1and1 http://www.1and1.com/?k_id=9113251 offers a package for $48/year that give you NOT ONLY your own domain with lots of web space, but a slew of email addresses.
The forwarding complaint is groundless. It’s completely unnecessary imho.
Even if you want to change your own domain between service providers, then you can just move where YOUR domain name points. There never should be an email interruption.
The belt ‘n’ suspenders crowd can combine that with many of the free redirectors. If you are really paranoid, you’ll never be out due to a name problem, you can redirect thru gmail (i.e., redirector to a gmail account to your domain) and you can be super assured. Then you can worry about a DNS or a GMail failure.
So, getting the gooferment to levy an obsolete requirement on all ISPs is surely a waste of everyone’s time, money, and attention.
That leaves aside the question of why she was running a business on a retail email account. I’m sure AOL’s TOS covered themselves.
Leave the gooferment to mess up the postal mail. It’s such an exemplar of effectiveness and efficiency!
[Disclaimer: Comcast probably has other opinions and certainly doesn’t need my help on this topic!]
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