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After seeing everyone rave about FastMail in the other thread I signed up for the demo. I've been looking to move a domain I have off of G Suite and it seemed l

by paulgb 9y ago

After seeing everyone rave about FastMail in the other thread I signed up for the demo. I've been looking to move a domain I have off of G Suite and it seemed like the best option. Now I'm having second thoughts, if this is how they treat paying customers.

fpoling 9y ago
I have Gmail for domains from the time when it was free for 5 users. Surprisingly Google keeps that working even if I have not paid them anything.
- StavrosK 9y ago
  I have one of those too, and I switched to Fastmail, which is much better. At the $4/mo I pay for it, it's a much better value than the free Gmail.
- pyre 9y ago
  Same here. I signed up for Google Apps for Domains, and it keeps on chugging, even though that program is no longer.
- j_s 9y ago
  It used to be free for more than 5 users, I believe the limit was decreased gradually. I have one account with 20 free users and I vaguely recollect hearing about it being free for 50 users, possibly even 100's. As recently as 3 years ago you could still sign up for 1 user. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4885538 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4885538 > If you create a new Apps account going through the App Engine Admin Console you'll still be able to create a Standard Apps account for free but you'll only be able to get 1 user per account rather than the 10 you get today. But per the referenced Google Groups discussion that has been shutdown sometime before January 2015. > You'll now have to pay for a Google Apps account, there's no more freebie "1 user per account" provision.
delhanty 9y ago
As the submitter, their general service is good enough. Sometimes their server seems slow from here in Japan. Also, their support staff sometime seem complacent due to lack of competition. But it will probably work out for you if you go for it. I am pissed off that they want to renege on our agreement. One concrete negative point for me: the current plans have a fixed price per user and are not very flexible if the users have very different use levels. (My father is a very light user, whereas I am heavy user.) Some of the legacy plans - family and business were more flexible in his regard, but they are not offered to new signups.
mdekkers 9y ago
After being on FM for the past year or so, I am now moving back to Gsuite. I have been on FM on and off pretty much since they started, but their service is slow, and the spam filtering is poor.
- fs111 9y ago
  It is pretty fast from here, what is slow for you?
  - mdekkers 9y ago
    The webclient and android app both.
- eridius 9y ago
  FastMail is faster than Gmail for me. Where are you located?
  - mdekkers 9y ago
    Spain, on the end of a 300MB synchronous FTTH connection.
mtgx 9y ago
Try ProtonMail instead. At least it offers end-to-end encryption.
- simplehuman 9y ago
  What exactly does this mean? Is this just gpg encryption?
  - Scea91 9y ago
    I don't know the full details but I believe that the data are sent encrypted to your browser and you decrypt them locally with a separate key.
    - simplehuman 9y ago
      This is how ssl works, no?
      - Scea91 9y ago
        The point is, that they are supposed to be encrypted on the server. So, the only place where they get decrypted is inside of your browser.
- carussell 9y ago
  For anyone evaluating services, before you invest too much time, know that Protonmail offers webmail only, if that's an important detail for you.
  - marcopol 9y ago
    That is incorrect. ProtonMail has iOS, Android and Webmail. It allows integration with IMAP-enabled third-party email clients (like Apple Mail, Thunderbird, Outlook) through an application now in closed beta only for paying ProtonMail users. You can learn more about it here: https://protonmail.com/bridge/ https://protonmail.com/bridge/ cheers
nickpsecurity 9y ago
"if this is how they treat paying customers." It looks to me like it's how they treat non-paying customers. Paying customers are their revenue source. I've heard good things from all of them that show up here.
carussell 9y ago
> everyone rave about FastMail in the other thread There's a lack of critical commentary about FastMail in general. In my case, it's because I don't want to come off as being overly negative/contrarian, and I'm pretty terrible about leaving reviews for products and services, despite the fact that I rely heavily on reviews and making purchasing decisions. I was a subscriber to FastMail for years and recently (last month) switched away. One of the main selling points you hear about FastMail is that, unlike the stories you hear about people getting locked out of Gmail and other Google services with no support line, then ostensibly support is part of the package you get from FastMail since you're actually a paying customer. Over ~4 years with FastMail, I filed two tickets, and I walked away both times feeling gross after nasty encounters with FastMail employees. (Honestly, quietly closing the tickets would have been better than the responses they left.) So I made a decision to walk away permanently by not renewing. FastMail comes off as really well regarded in HN-like communities, but I can only help feeling like it's from those who set up an account years ago, had no problem sending and receiving mail, and have only ever coasted like that since, without ever interacting with the support that everyone feels warm and fuzzy about paying for but never using. The other thing is that there's a dearth of competition for FastMail, especially in the age of webmail, so they don't have to be good, all they have to do is exist. I'm on Runbox now, which has a less sexy interface if you're using webmail rather than IMAP, but it turns out to be slightly cheaper for my use case, and I can attest that, based on my experience during migration from FastMail, at least the Runbox staff don't come off as jerks.
- delhanty 9y ago
  >at least the Runbox staff don't come off as jerks. Yeah, that's my main actual service negative. The FM support staff are condescending, because they're the experts in email and you're just an ignorant customer.
  - lilyball 9y ago
    Have you considered that maybe it's your attitude that's the problem, not FastMail? I've contacted FastMail support a number of times for various issues and not once have they ever been condescending.
kxyvr 9y ago
I've been a paying member for years. For me, it's been good: service has been reliable; email gets delivered; when I did use them for hosting, pages were served; I've filed 2-3 tickets over that time and each was handled quickly and to my satisfaction. Certainly, I can't speak for everyone else's experience, but I've been happy with mine and will continue to use them in the immediate future.
joyofdata 9y ago
I switched to Fastmail from GMail a month ago and I have no reason to complain. Spam filtering is indeed not as good as at GM but good enough. It receives mail and sends mail. There is anyway absolutely no other competitor in the game b/c FM and GM are the only web mail services offering a reasonable 2FA solution. I checked 'em all and would have preferred a different provider as their servers are located in NYC. My motivation was to avoid having too much of my stuff depending on and catering to the Google Datenkrake.
eridius 9y ago
I've been a paying member for a few years and FastMail has been nothing but fantastic. Excellent service, and every support ticket I've filed has been handled quickly and professionally. This lifetime account thing is the first time I've actually seen evidence of FastMail doing something wrong, and to be honest I'm finding it hard to actually care all that much about someone who got 15 years of email service for $15.

by paulgb 9y ago

fpoling 9y ago

I have Gmail for domains from the time when it was free for 5 users. Surprisingly Google keeps that working even if I have not paid them anything.

StavrosK 9y ago
I have one of those too, and I switched to Fastmail, which is much better. At the $4/mo I pay for it, it's a much better value than the free Gmail.
pyre 9y ago
Same here. I signed up for Google Apps for Domains, and it keeps on chugging, even though that program is no longer.
j_s 9y ago
It used to be free for more than 5 users, I believe the limit was decreased gradually. I have one account with 20 free users and I vaguely recollect hearing about it being free for 50 users, possibly even 100's. As recently as 3 years ago you could still sign up for 1 user. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4885538 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4885538 > If you create a new Apps account going through the App Engine Admin Console you'll still be able to create a Standard Apps account for free but you'll only be able to get 1 user per account rather than the 10 you get today. But per the referenced Google Groups discussion that has been shutdown sometime before January 2015. > You'll now have to pay for a Google Apps account, there's no more freebie "1 user per account" provision.

delhanty 9y ago

As the submitter, their general service is good enough. Sometimes their server seems slow from here in Japan. Also, their support staff sometime seem complacent due to lack of competition. But it will probably work out for you if you go for it. I am pissed off that they want to renege on our agreement. One concrete negative point for me: the current plans have a fixed price per user and are not very flexible if the users have very different use levels. (My father is a very light user, whereas I am heavy user.) Some of the legacy plans - family and business were more flexible in his regard, but they are not offered to new signups.

mdekkers 9y ago

After being on FM for the past year or so, I am now moving back to Gsuite. I have been on FM on and off pretty much since they started, but their service is slow, and the spam filtering is poor.

fs111 9y ago
It is pretty fast from here, what is slow for you?
- mdekkers 9y ago
  The webclient and android app both.
eridius 9y ago
FastMail is faster than Gmail for me. Where are you located?
- mdekkers 9y ago
  Spain, on the end of a 300MB synchronous FTTH connection.

mtgx 9y ago

Try ProtonMail instead. At least it offers end-to-end encryption.

simplehuman 9y ago
What exactly does this mean? Is this just gpg encryption?
- Scea91 9y ago
  I don't know the full details but I believe that the data are sent encrypted to your browser and you decrypt them locally with a separate key.
  - simplehuman 9y ago
    This is how ssl works, no?
    - Scea91 9y ago
      The point is, that they are supposed to be encrypted on the server. So, the only place where they get decrypted is inside of your browser.
carussell 9y ago
For anyone evaluating services, before you invest too much time, know that Protonmail offers webmail only, if that's an important detail for you.
- marcopol 9y ago
  That is incorrect. ProtonMail has iOS, Android and Webmail. It allows integration with IMAP-enabled third-party email clients (like Apple Mail, Thunderbird, Outlook) through an application now in closed beta only for paying ProtonMail users. You can learn more about it here: https://protonmail.com/bridge/ https://protonmail.com/bridge/ cheers

nickpsecurity 9y ago

"if this is how they treat paying customers." It looks to me like it's how they treat non-paying customers. Paying customers are their revenue source. I've heard good things from all of them that show up here.

carussell 9y ago

> everyone rave about FastMail in the other thread There's a lack of critical commentary about FastMail in general. In my case, it's because I don't want to come off as being overly negative/contrarian, and I'm pretty terrible about leaving reviews for products and services, despite the fact that I rely heavily on reviews and making purchasing decisions. I was a subscriber to FastMail for years and recently (last month) switched away. One of the main selling points you hear about FastMail is that, unlike the stories you hear about people getting locked out of Gmail and other Google services with no support line, then ostensibly support is part of the package you get from FastMail since you're actually a paying customer. Over ~4 years with FastMail, I filed two tickets, and I walked away both times feeling gross after nasty encounters with FastMail employees. (Honestly, quietly closing the tickets would have been better than the responses they left.) So I made a decision to walk away permanently by not renewing. FastMail comes off as really well regarded in HN-like communities, but I can only help feeling like it's from those who set up an account years ago, had no problem sending and receiving mail, and have only ever coasted like that since, without ever interacting with the support that everyone feels warm and fuzzy about paying for but never using. The other thing is that there's a dearth of competition for FastMail, especially in the age of webmail, so they don't have to be good, all they have to do is exist. I'm on Runbox now, which has a less sexy interface if you're using webmail rather than IMAP, but it turns out to be slightly cheaper for my use case, and I can attest that, based on my experience during migration from FastMail, at least the Runbox staff don't come off as jerks.

delhanty 9y ago
>at least the Runbox staff don't come off as jerks. Yeah, that's my main actual service negative. The FM support staff are condescending, because they're the experts in email and you're just an ignorant customer.
- lilyball 9y ago
  Have you considered that maybe it's your attitude that's the problem, not FastMail? I've contacted FastMail support a number of times for various issues and not once have they ever been condescending.

kxyvr 9y ago

I've been a paying member for years. For me, it's been good: service has been reliable; email gets delivered; when I did use them for hosting, pages were served; I've filed 2-3 tickets over that time and each was handled quickly and to my satisfaction. Certainly, I can't speak for everyone else's experience, but I've been happy with mine and will continue to use them in the immediate future.

joyofdata 9y ago

I switched to Fastmail from GMail a month ago and I have no reason to complain. Spam filtering is indeed not as good as at GM but good enough. It receives mail and sends mail. There is anyway absolutely no other competitor in the game b/c FM and GM are the only web mail services offering a reasonable 2FA solution. I checked 'em all and would have preferred a different provider as their servers are located in NYC. My motivation was to avoid having too much of my stuff depending on and catering to the Google Datenkrake.

eridius 9y ago

I've been a paying member for a few years and FastMail has been nothing but fantastic. Excellent service, and every support ticket I've filed has been handled quickly and professionally. This lifetime account thing is the first time I've actually seen evidence of FastMail doing something wrong, and to be honest I'm finding it hard to actually care all that much about someone who got 15 years of email service for $15.