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I guess my deceased dad's email was deleted(hotmail). I found an old email address of his and was trying to get into it just to reconnect since he died when I w

by ge96 6y ago

I guess my deceased dad's email was deleted(hotmail). I found an old email address of his and was trying to get into it just to reconnect since he died when I was a child. I get shouldn't see other people's stuff but still... would have been interesting as it was in the early 2000's that he was around. Would have liked to see how his mind operated. Afterall he was a successful person (eg. operating a 60ft yacht for several years) and he also referred to the handover of Hong Kong to China 1997 in recent context. I unfortunately did not inherit/learn that business savviness aspect. Seeing his emails would have been like time travel. I had that Black Mirror thought to strip personality from data.

cm2187 6y ago
My reaction in a similar situation was to rather preserve his privacy. I don't know that mailboxes should be made available to relatives after one dies.
- ge96 6y ago
  Yeah and it could go both ways. You can try to get something out of it or also what if you're tied to their problems(eg. debt) that would suck. But yeah TL;DR I don't really remember my own father so would be nice to see more of what his life was like.
  - Aeolun 6y ago
    Personally I think it would be fun if my son was interested in what’s in my emails after I’m dead. On the other hand, it’s all horribly mundane, so you’d quickly get bored.
  - WalterBright 6y ago
    My parents obsessively kept every family letter, the good, the bad, the sad, even the embarrassing. It's kind of a treasure trove for me. I get to see their take on events I remember. The letters go back well over a century.
- scrollaway 6y ago
  For those who actually want to do this on Google, there is a tool called the Inactive Account Manager (not available for GSuite/Google Workspace): https://myaccount.google.com/inactive https://myaccount.google.com/inactive (More info: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3036546 https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3036546) This utility allows you to give access to a variety of data to another user when your Google account becomes inactive for a configurable long period of time. It also allows you to send certain emails or whatever. I recommend everyone who uses a Google account checks it out at the very least. It's a hell of a tool.
dec0dedab0de 6y ago
My father also died when I was a child, so I understand where you're coming from. I am now a father, and currently dealing with a serious illness, which has made me think about these things. I can say that my child finding my emails after I'm dead is something I definitely do not want to happen. I'm not sure how to handle it yet.
- ge96 6y ago
  > I can say that my child finding my emails after I'm dead is something I definitely do not want to happen. That makes sense(funny?), I suppose it is different if you have a relatively active/recent relationship. Hope the illness is worked out. Also yeah, it is your own private details I get that, I wouldn't ask my friend if I could see their email. Just in my case it was the only potential record of my dad's thoughts.

by ge96 6y ago

cm2187 6y ago

My reaction in a similar situation was to rather preserve his privacy. I don't know that mailboxes should be made available to relatives after one dies.

ge96 6y ago
Yeah and it could go both ways. You can try to get something out of it or also what if you're tied to their problems(eg. debt) that would suck. But yeah TL;DR I don't really remember my own father so would be nice to see more of what his life was like.
- Aeolun 6y ago
  Personally I think it would be fun if my son was interested in what’s in my emails after I’m dead. On the other hand, it’s all horribly mundane, so you’d quickly get bored.
- WalterBright 6y ago
  My parents obsessively kept every family letter, the good, the bad, the sad, even the embarrassing. It's kind of a treasure trove for me. I get to see their take on events I remember. The letters go back well over a century.
scrollaway 6y ago
For those who actually want to do this on Google, there is a tool called the Inactive Account Manager (not available for GSuite/Google Workspace): https://myaccount.google.com/inactive https://myaccount.google.com/inactive (More info: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3036546 https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3036546) This utility allows you to give access to a variety of data to another user when your Google account becomes inactive for a configurable long period of time. It also allows you to send certain emails or whatever. I recommend everyone who uses a Google account checks it out at the very least. It's a hell of a tool.

dec0dedab0de 6y ago

My father also died when I was a child, so I understand where you're coming from. I am now a father, and currently dealing with a serious illness, which has made me think about these things. I can say that my child finding my emails after I'm dead is something I definitely do not want to happen. I'm not sure how to handle it yet.

ge96 6y ago
> I can say that my child finding my emails after I'm dead is something I definitely do not want to happen. That makes sense(funny?), I suppose it is different if you have a relatively active/recent relationship. Hope the illness is worked out. Also yeah, it is your own private details I get that, I wouldn't ask my friend if I could see their email. Just in my case it was the only potential record of my dad's thoughts.