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> There is nothing special about Gmail, why do you have to use it? I'm terrified of Google's support, but: - It's free. - I've been using Gmail for over a de

by the_af 4y ago

> There is nothing special about Gmail, why do you have to use it? I'm terrified of Google's support, but: - It's free. - I've been using Gmail for over a decade. Why would I switch? I've tons of data in there, and most people I care about know this is my email. > they have your phone number on file and they can call you Do you mean the phone I just lost in the fire? (in this scenario)

ClumsyPilot 4y ago
> would I switch? I've tons of data in there, and most people I care about know this is my email. Surely fact that you have a lot of data is precisely the reason you need to safeguard it? Copying all old emails to a new account takes a few clicks in outlook/thunderbird/whatever you prefer Setting up forwarding takes a couple minutes. This isn't like leaving WhatsApp where you are stuck > Do you mean the phone I just lost in the fire? I can walk into a physical store of my phone company and have a new simcard in minutes
- the_af 4y ago
  > I can walk into a physical store of my phone company and have a new simcard in minutes This doesn't work in all countries. > Setting up forwarding takes a couple minutes. This isn't like leaving WhatsApp where you are stuck I find this unsatisfying. In this day an age, your email is often your id. I don't feel comfortable with my id being one thing to some people, and another to others, without rhyme or reason. I'm also not comfortable with having forward configured in an (allegedly) unsafe account I may lose access to.
vorpalhex 4y ago
If Google locked your email tomorrow, what would you do? This can and does happen.
- the_af 4y ago
  I don't know, and it terrifies me. I don't have a good answer to this. This is why TFA resonates with me. I think we need some sort of unified online identity that is relatively easy to recover in case of accidents but very hard for hackers to crack/steal, and also that this identity cannot depend on the whims of Google, Facebook, Microsoft or any corporate provider with arbitrary and opaque appeals procedures. I don't know what a truly achievable and satisfying answer would be like. I've lost some sleep over this :( And don't get me started on backups of irreplaceable digital things like photos of your loved ones. I've really lost sleep over this. I do have some backups, but it's a chore and none are foolproof.
  - vorpalhex 4y ago
    I'll share my solution. I have "recovery capsules". Some are electronic (high quality usb drive) and some are dead tree on waterproof paper. These get me back into my password manager and require things I know to decrypt. USB drive contains needed decryption software for lots of platforms. This bootstrap data almost never changes. Emails, clouds, photos, etc get backed up automatically onto a homelab which stores data on ZFS. I manually do a backup (semi-automated, plugging in the drive to the dock is manual still). I had a buddy I exchanged backups with but lost that situation, so I need to find a new one or two, but that gives me offsite backup. Admittedly this isn't perfect - if my local city melts then I am screwed but also I probably have bigger problems then anyways.
    - the_af 4y ago
      > Admittedly this isn't perfect - if my local city melts then I am screwed I wouldn't worry about this too much. Also if there is a nuclear war, I assume we will all have more pressing matters to worry about. But for more common scenarios: the problem is that it feels like too much work. Convenience wins the day, even if I'm at the mercy of Google and their support is terrible and people frequently get locked out on a whim, and Google doesn't care. I know, I'm digging my own grave here :/ PS: I do keep my encrypted passwords database in a pendrive, and I do print recovery codes for Gmail. I suppose everything else can be recovered from those two (if Gmail doesn't lock me out on a whim). But in case of a fire that burns everything down, I'm lost. This doesn't address my photos either; I think some are backed up in... Google Photo? [facepalm]

by the_af 4y ago

ClumsyPilot 4y ago

> would I switch? I've tons of data in there, and most people I care about know this is my email. Surely fact that you have a lot of data is precisely the reason you need to safeguard it? Copying all old emails to a new account takes a few clicks in outlook/thunderbird/whatever you prefer Setting up forwarding takes a couple minutes. This isn't like leaving WhatsApp where you are stuck > Do you mean the phone I just lost in the fire? I can walk into a physical store of my phone company and have a new simcard in minutes

the_af 4y ago
> I can walk into a physical store of my phone company and have a new simcard in minutes This doesn't work in all countries. > Setting up forwarding takes a couple minutes. This isn't like leaving WhatsApp where you are stuck I find this unsatisfying. In this day an age, your email is often your id. I don't feel comfortable with my id being one thing to some people, and another to others, without rhyme or reason. I'm also not comfortable with having forward configured in an (allegedly) unsafe account I may lose access to.

vorpalhex 4y ago

If Google locked your email tomorrow, what would you do? This can and does happen.

the_af 4y ago
I don't know, and it terrifies me. I don't have a good answer to this. This is why TFA resonates with me. I think we need some sort of unified online identity that is relatively easy to recover in case of accidents but very hard for hackers to crack/steal, and also that this identity cannot depend on the whims of Google, Facebook, Microsoft or any corporate provider with arbitrary and opaque appeals procedures. I don't know what a truly achievable and satisfying answer would be like. I've lost some sleep over this :( And don't get me started on backups of irreplaceable digital things like photos of your loved ones. I've really lost sleep over this. I do have some backups, but it's a chore and none are foolproof.
- vorpalhex 4y ago
  I'll share my solution. I have "recovery capsules". Some are electronic (high quality usb drive) and some are dead tree on waterproof paper. These get me back into my password manager and require things I know to decrypt. USB drive contains needed decryption software for lots of platforms. This bootstrap data almost never changes. Emails, clouds, photos, etc get backed up automatically onto a homelab which stores data on ZFS. I manually do a backup (semi-automated, plugging in the drive to the dock is manual still). I had a buddy I exchanged backups with but lost that situation, so I need to find a new one or two, but that gives me offsite backup. Admittedly this isn't perfect - if my local city melts then I am screwed but also I probably have bigger problems then anyways.
  - the_af 4y ago
    > Admittedly this isn't perfect - if my local city melts then I am screwed I wouldn't worry about this too much. Also if there is a nuclear war, I assume we will all have more pressing matters to worry about. But for more common scenarios: the problem is that it feels like too much work. Convenience wins the day, even if I'm at the mercy of Google and their support is terrible and people frequently get locked out on a whim, and Google doesn't care. I know, I'm digging my own grave here :/ PS: I do keep my encrypted passwords database in a pendrive, and I do print recovery codes for Gmail. I suppose everything else can be recovered from those two (if Gmail doesn't lock me out on a whim). But in case of a fire that burns everything down, I'm lost. This doesn't address my photos either; I think some are backed up in... Google Photo? [facepalm]