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> That same day I opened a second GMail account so I could have access to services like an email account if need be, even if it didn’t have any of my previous d

> That same day I opened a second GMail account so I could have access to services like an email account if need be, even if it didn’t have any of my previous data in there. When service is this terrible, why stick with the bad provider? I generally find the whole article sort of depressing... “Google ignored my problems for a month. But now I have access again oh well yay!!”

crazygringo 9y ago
Because what's the alternative? You can spend weeks moving all your data to Microsoft or Apple... and suffer lost messages when people don't update their e-mail for you... and then discover they're just as bad or worse? What's an alternative to Gmail+Drive+Apps that has as much functionality, ease of use and convenience, and at a comparable price, but guarantees you won't get locked out?
- jmnicolas 9y ago
  When is the last time you heard the same kind of story about Apple or MS?
  - badsectoracula 9y ago
    Didn't Apple shut down their .me or whatever it was called services some time ago (and AFAIK that was even a paid service)? What happened to the websites, blogs, emails, etc that were hosted by them?
    - ceejayoz 9y ago
      They discontinued the hosting, but the rest of the services (including email) are largely still around, just rebranded to iCloud. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MobileMe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MobileMe
      - alsetmusic 9y ago
        It’s important to note that the old email addresses still work. New ones are assigned to the icloud domain, but my @mac.com email still works and that was a (free) service when I signed up for it in 1999. Old @me.com addresses also remain functional.
        jsjohnst 9y ago
        Just to echo you, I also still have my @mac.com / @me.com versions of my iCloud login too.
- 0x0 9y ago
  If you're opening a new 2nd account, there isn't anything to "move", is there?
  - WillPostForFood 9y ago
    You have to update your email address with every person, service, mailing list, etc.. you use.
    - inferiorhuman 9y ago
      Just like with a second gmail account…
      - WillPostForFood 9y ago
        yes, if you are opening a second account, regardless of where, there is plenty to move.
    - cdubzzz 9y ago
      Just to provide one example - about a year ago I moved from a 12 year old Gmail address to another address/service. The lift for updating people, services, etc. really wasn’t that much. I left the gmail around and I do log in once a month or so but the last time I remember anything of interest coming there was maybe six months ago. I also exported all of my emails from Gmail. I recall accessing them once maybe a month or two after the move, but since then I haven’t touched them. In general I think people attach much more significance to things like email addresses and phone numbers than is necessary. Frankly I’d much rather things like that change from time to time so they aren’t so easily used as semi-permanent identifiers.
- jsjohnst 9y ago
  > What's an alternative It’s called paying for the services you use. You don’t even need to switch to a different product / provider, just pay $5/month and ~$10/year for a domain name. Then worst case scenario, you can move your domain off of Google Apps and not need to update your email address everywhere with everyone.
  - crazygringo 9y ago
    I don't think you read the article: "They don’t have customer service, yet I’m paying for storage."
    - jsjohnst 9y ago
      1) please check the rules of HN before replying that way 2) I did read the article, paying for Google Drive or Photos storage is not paying for Gmail.
      - crazygringo 9y ago
        1) Apologies 2) The article isn't about Gmail, it's about an entire Google account where the author stated they ARE paying for extra storage for Gmail and Drive -- where you seemed to imply they're not paying. And buying your own domain does nothing for getting access back to your 10,000's of past e-mails or your 100's of GB's of files you're paying to store.
        bartvk 9y ago
        Of course you have to back them up yourself. But that's true for any service.
        jsjohnst 9y ago
        > And buying your own domain does nothing for getting access back to your 10,000's of past e-mails Now if only Google had a way to “take out” your data and made it trivial to have backups for emergencies.
  - 9y ago
- ryandrake 9y ago
  I just moved all my E-mail from Gmail to my own VPS running Exim. Took maybe two evenings of work including IMAP access and a basic spamassassin setup.

crazygringo 9y ago

Because what's the alternative? You can spend weeks moving all your data to Microsoft or Apple... and suffer lost messages when people don't update their e-mail for you... and then discover they're just as bad or worse? What's an alternative to Gmail+Drive+Apps that has as much functionality, ease of use and convenience, and at a comparable price, but guarantees you won't get locked out?

jmnicolas 9y ago
When is the last time you heard the same kind of story about Apple or MS?
- badsectoracula 9y ago
  Didn't Apple shut down their .me or whatever it was called services some time ago (and AFAIK that was even a paid service)? What happened to the websites, blogs, emails, etc that were hosted by them?
  - ceejayoz 9y ago
    They discontinued the hosting, but the rest of the services (including email) are largely still around, just rebranded to iCloud. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MobileMe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MobileMe
    - alsetmusic 9y ago
      It’s important to note that the old email addresses still work. New ones are assigned to the icloud domain, but my @mac.com email still works and that was a (free) service when I signed up for it in 1999. Old @me.com addresses also remain functional.
      - jsjohnst 9y ago
        Just to echo you, I also still have my @mac.com / @me.com versions of my iCloud login too.
0x0 9y ago
If you're opening a new 2nd account, there isn't anything to "move", is there?
- WillPostForFood 9y ago
  You have to update your email address with every person, service, mailing list, etc.. you use.
  - inferiorhuman 9y ago
    Just like with a second gmail account…
    - WillPostForFood 9y ago
      yes, if you are opening a second account, regardless of where, there is plenty to move.
  - cdubzzz 9y ago
    Just to provide one example - about a year ago I moved from a 12 year old Gmail address to another address/service. The lift for updating people, services, etc. really wasn’t that much. I left the gmail around and I do log in once a month or so but the last time I remember anything of interest coming there was maybe six months ago. I also exported all of my emails from Gmail. I recall accessing them once maybe a month or two after the move, but since then I haven’t touched them. In general I think people attach much more significance to things like email addresses and phone numbers than is necessary. Frankly I’d much rather things like that change from time to time so they aren’t so easily used as semi-permanent identifiers.
jsjohnst 9y ago
> What's an alternative It’s called paying for the services you use. You don’t even need to switch to a different product / provider, just pay $5/month and ~$10/year for a domain name. Then worst case scenario, you can move your domain off of Google Apps and not need to update your email address everywhere with everyone.
- crazygringo 9y ago
  I don't think you read the article: "They don’t have customer service, yet I’m paying for storage."
  - jsjohnst 9y ago
    1) please check the rules of HN before replying that way 2) I did read the article, paying for Google Drive or Photos storage is not paying for Gmail.
    - crazygringo 9y ago
      1) Apologies 2) The article isn't about Gmail, it's about an entire Google account where the author stated they ARE paying for extra storage for Gmail and Drive -- where you seemed to imply they're not paying. And buying your own domain does nothing for getting access back to your 10,000's of past e-mails or your 100's of GB's of files you're paying to store.
      - bartvk 9y ago
        Of course you have to back them up yourself. But that's true for any service.
      - jsjohnst 9y ago
        > And buying your own domain does nothing for getting access back to your 10,000's of past e-mails Now if only Google had a way to “take out” your data and made it trivial to have backups for emergencies.
- 9y ago
ryandrake 9y ago
I just moved all my E-mail from Gmail to my own VPS running Exim. Took maybe two evenings of work including IMAP access and a basic spamassassin setup.