I've been self-hosting my mail for 17 or 18 years now, by purchasing just some managed webhosting package from somebody who cares about their services not being

I've been self-hosting my mail for 17 or 18 years now, by purchasing just some managed webhosting package from somebody who cares about their services not being used for shady stuff (any reputable managed hosting provider) and I think I've never "lost" an outgoing mail for personal use. I don't understand what the author thinks it's so hard here and why he's painting it so black and white. There's lots of more to "my own e-mail" than choosing between some old notebook running and collecting dust in your garage and using GMail. Some people just want to find a hair in the soup.