topic Re: Limited options for email adresses in Plusnet Feedback

Limited options for email adresses

thripston — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:37:12 GMT

Why do we have to have a unique name after the @ instead of being whatever@plusnet.com?
I've been thripston@f2s.com while I was with f2s and my partner was hername@f2s.com. Now Ive switched to Plusnet I have to be something@thripston.plusnet.com and my mrs has to be hername@thripston.plusnet.com. She really isnt very happy about having that in her email, if I'd known 'thripston' would be in all my emails when I had to name my account I'd have come up with soemthing else. I dont particularly want such a long name either.

Re: Limited options for email adresses

jelv — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:41:20 GMT

Have you taken up the free domain on your account?
thripston.me.uk is available - if you subsequently leave Plusnet you could take your domain (and email addresses) with you.

Re: Limited options for email adresses

James — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 13:43:41 GMT

Hi there,
I appreciate that you may not have realised this, but when you're choosing your username, it does actually tell you what your default email address will be.
I'll attach a screenshot of that for you.

Re: Limited options for email adresses

thripston — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:34:26 GMT

jelv - thanks. ill look into that. i used to have a .me.uk registered with 123reg but i missed the payment. i could give the free address to my gf and just suck it up for the email i dont really want.
jameseh - i did see that. i was hoping we would get the option to change it and that one very trivial but also very annoying thing wasnt going to put me off switching from freedom2ignoreourcustomers to a isp that does understand customer service and gives me the same service at a third the cost. That fly is still sitting there in the ointment though.

Re: Limited options for email adresses

Lurker — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:07:23 GMT

Why not register thripston.me.uk for free with your PN account?
It would entirely negate your issue then, and have the benefit of being portable in the future.
(I know I'm simply repeating Jelvs point, but really, why don't you?)

Re: Limited options for email adresses

thripston — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:24:34 GMT

The main reason I dont is because I am pretty clueless about how to do it or what exactly it is Im doing. I did try and find how I would set up the .me.uk but after clicking on numerous things in my members area nothing seemed to present itself where I could do this.
So if I eventually figure out how to make a thripston.me.uk address with it, that doesn't help my gf getting an address without thripston in it. Obviously the .me.uk could be something specific to her. Just a shame we don't get 2 free addresses then we are both covered forever regardless of what ISP I'm with.
Maybe I should go back to square one and change my Plusnet to @somethingelse.plusnet.com and pick something both me and her are happy with. I did try and find how to do that but couldnt see the option anywhere. Wouldnt it also mess up or delay setting up my account with Plusnet too?
I can almost hear the facepalms sorry to be sucjh a noob about this, I really hate setting up stuff with internet things, its why Ive been with the same isp for so long.

Re: Limited options for email adresses

Be3G — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:29:51 GMT

Do residential accounts come with a free domain? I know they did once because of the spam problem, but that was an offer that ended long ago... otherwise, I was under the impression that PN would sell you a .co.uk domain for £1/month, but that's the best you could get.

Re: Limited options for email adresses

Lurker — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:35:52 GMT

The £1/mth is if you wanted PN to register you a .co.uk address, which is clearly madness, since its much cheaper to register it yourself, and simply host it with PN.
@thripston
Just think of something you don't mind having as your email domain for the forseeable - it can be almost anything you want.
.name addresses are kinda handy for this sort of thing, but you would want one for you, and one for your GF I reckon.
forename@surname.name works pretty well as a format for personal email addresses though.
If you truly are interested in this sort of thing, we can delve into the memory banks and drag out the various instructions on how to achieve this.
Tons of folks have done it, and its really not hard overall.
Just one step at a time.

Re: Limited options for email adresses

Be3G — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:39:50 GMT

Quote from: James_G
The £1/mth is if you wanted PN to register you a .co.uk address, which is clearly madness, since its much cheaper to register it yourself, and simply host it with PN.

I understand that - but both you and jelv have talked about registering a 'free' domain with Plusnet... which, as far as I'm aware, isn't possible.

Re: Limited options for email adresses

Lurker — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:41:17 GMT

Sorry - meant 'hosting' rather than 'registering'.
/my bad.
This thread has not been awarded the Crystal Mark for clarity.

Re: Limited options for email adresses

mal0z — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:48:05 GMT

Quote from: thripston
The main reason I dont is because I am pretty clueless about how to do it or what exactly it is Im doing. I did try and find how I would set up the .me.uk but after clicking on numerous things in my members area nothing seemed to present itself where I could do this.

Well - despite the crazyness going on over on the other popular thread at the moment, PN support staff are really helpful with this sort of thing and there are plenty of people here to help........

Re: Limited options for email adresses

thripston — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 16:49:56 GMT

The easiest option I can see is rename my domain at Plusnet to something me and my gf can both live with. I cant see where I can do that though.
Failing that I set up something free for her somewhere somehow and register it here for free.
I'm starting to regret switching over now tbh, the last thing I expected was a headache over my 'expletive deleted' account name off all things.
Edit: A little digging leads me to think the only way I can lose @thripston is to cancel my account entirely and start again. Please, please can someone confirm this? If it is the case then I guess I am stuck with thripston.
So tips on setting up a free email addy for my gf would be appreciated.

Re: Limited options for email adresses

jelv — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:14:13 GMT

I think changing your account name is possible - but you would need the help of someone like James to do it. I think the procedure is:
Sign up for a free dialup PAYG account here with the username you want to use.
Add details of DD or credit card to that account so that it can be used to take payments.
Then Plusnet can move your broadband over to that account.
I think you could also sign up for the free account and use it just for the email whilst using thripston just for the broadband connection.
Finally - have you thought of using gmail?

Re: Limited options for email adresses

pierre_pierre — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:18:21 GMT

you dont have to change you basic name at all, I was lucky when the foul up happened, at that time I had @username.free-online.co.uk and for logistic reason PN gave us @username.idps.co.uk - IDPS stand for "I Dont Pay Subscriptions they tem gave all those that were affected by the foul up a "Free" choice of a .co.uk or a .me.uk, I managed to get @username.me.uk - this suited me.
The e-mail that I get can be addressed to any of those three and it all comes to the same inbox, Likewise I have a small website and that can also be got via any of the three. I.e. Username.me.uk or username.idps.co.uk etc.
I assume the same will apply now if you get one via plus net

Re: Limited options for email adresses

thripston — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:28:25 GMT

Taking the free account for doing emails makes sense, switching my main account to the free one doesn't though, it's only regarding my emails that the username is an issue.
Gmail looks like a good possibility, that'll be plan B I guess.

Re: Limited options for email adresses

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:48:46 GMT

Thripston - I do agree with you on this issue and have long thought the email address system to be cumbersome. If I sign anyone up now I always urge them to use a short username if possible.
After the security breach I went over to Gmail and found this to be better but I don't like their webmail with the 'conversations'
format.
Luckily, Force 9 offered free domain names following the email problem and I took up the offer. It is much better and I was lucky to get a really good appropriate address. I notice that the same one with .me.uk and .net are now taken up so I was fortunate to get .co.uk.
The Plusnet system is good in that it allows you plenty of aliases so that you can delete them if you get spammed on one particular alias but you can do that with your domain name too. If you feel strongly about it, go for a domain - as has been said, you need never change your address again.