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I have exactly two email identities and one mobile phone number, oh and a slack handful of "POTS" (VOIP really) numbers. I run the lot myself. VoIP - my compa
by gerdesj 3y ago
I have exactly two email identities and one mobile phone number, oh and a slack handful of "POTS" (VOIP really) numbers. I run the lot myself.
VoIP - my company has a retail account with a wholesaler. I can allocate UK phone numbers at will. My wife set up a new business a few years ago and I had another phone number with distinctive ring running within 20 mins. Obviously not your usual setup. My dad and stepmum have a RasPi running their phones at home. At my place it's a VM.
email - despite the usual HN groupthink with regards email, I have been running tiny email systems as well as some rather larger ones for quite some time - decades. I do note that this does not work for everyone but for me in the UK it does. I do have access to long running static IPs and have made sure that their "reputation" is top notch.
I recently added a "vanity" domain for a friend so they can escape ISP lock in. Their surname is the same as a village in North England and some wankers had squatted on village.co.uk and wanted £25,000 for it. I advised my friend that if he registered a UK LTD with his family name then we could probably get the .co.uk by default. I registered .org.uk instead - too much faff for my friend. I set up SPF to use my family's MTA (Exim) to ensure that things tie up. A .org.uk domain costs about £6 + VAT (sales tax) hereabouts. I suggested £20 per annum as a charitable donation of his choice, in return for me running his email. He chose St Margaret's Hospice. It turns out that both my mum and his mum received end of life care from St Madge's.
I have digressed somewhat!
You do need at least two identities for safety. You mention "my domain" - do you actually run it? If not then you need another one as well. Do not, whatever you do, rely on any single hyperscaler to give a shit. The well informed user can route around damage in the cloud. It sounds like you are unlikely to run your own system(s) so have a backup plan. Remember that say FB provide a smtp service if that helps - ISTR that id@facebook.com should work. There are lots of other freeish email offerings. Just make sure you have two well known identities that those whom you care about can contact you with. You can also recommend the same advice to them.