Email address existence/creation confusion

[#1]

I don't know if I created a PN email address when I joined (not likely because I don't particularly want one), but if I did I don't know what it is or should be. Neither do I understand exactly what I should be doing because the 'help' sections are confusing. Each page I look at online and in the little booklet that comes with the router talks about different things. One says to use my account name, which is with the plusdsl.net appendage, another says do not use plusdsl.net. Then another says it will be something at plusnet.com (or something like that), which is not my account name. So what is it? What on earth do I do, use, add, write, what? I just want to have a temporary email address and it's a nightmare.
Come to that, of course I need to ask if I can just create a temporary one and then delete it when I'm done with it? Could a staff member also tell me if I did create one at signup?
One thing, it would be helpful if the plusnet customer pages that we log in to had the webmail link (on a different domain of course, and requiring a separate login) set to open in a new tab/window instead of loading in the current tab/window that we are logged into.

[#2]

Look here and you will see if you have any email addresses setup https://portal.plus.net/my.html?action=myemail&s=1&redirected=yes&?membermenu=emailsettingsand click on Manage My Mail
Regarding opening webmail in a new tab - right click on the link and select that

[#3]

Thank you, Jim. I see 'add a new mail box' when I click that link. I guess that means I don't have any set up.
Yes, I do right click and then click to select open in a new tab. I'm pointing out that it would be easier if they could simply add the html tag to the link (off the top of my head 'target=_blank' or something like that), besides which, I find it even more annoying when a web page does not do this simple thing when displaying a link on a page where you are logged in, and which also takes to you another domain that requires another log in. It's very lazy and bad coding, in my view.
Still looking for someone who can answer the question about setting the email up temporarily, what the domain is going to be and what part I would need to input as the "acccount name" when logging in.

[#4]

Quote from: Razer

I don't know if I created a PN email address when I joined (not likely because I don't particularly want one), but if I did I don't know what it is or should be.

I would be suprised if you don't already have an email  domain, where you can use anything@username.plus.net
The default catchall mailbox is username@username.plus.net
If  you can login to webmail using your username, this indicates the mailbox is setup and ready.

Quote from: Razer

Neither do I understand exactly what I should be doing because the 'help' sections are confusing. Each page I look at online and in the little booklet that comes with the router talks about different things. One says to use my account name, which is with the plusdsl.net appendage, another says do not use plusdsl.net.

The username@plusdsl.net address is for router login only and serves no other purpose.
As PlusNets email setup allows for unlimited email aliases,  it is not necessary to create a specific mailbox for a temporary address,  as all email will be delivered to you default mailbox anyway.
If you do setup a specifc mailbox for a temporary address,  delting the mailbox later just means it goes back to the default address.
However,  in both cases, once finished with, it's possible to setup a redirect on a specific address to either forward it elsewhere,  or send it to the blackhole, never to be seen again.

Quote from: Razer

One thing, it would be helpful if the plusnet customer pages that we log in to had the webmail link (on a different domain of course, and requiring a separate login) set to open in a new tab/window instead of loading in the current tab/window that we are logged into.

Quote from: Razer

I find it even more annoying when a web page does not do this simple thing when displaying a link on a page where you are logged in, and which also takes to you another domain that requires another log in.

I have to disagree here,  I find it very annoy when a website decides that a link I've clicked should open in another tab/window without my say so.
If I want the page to open in a new window, I'll use to appropriate option to make the browser do so.
By the way,  ther are two shortcuts to open a link in another tab,  hold ctrl an left click,  or (if not overriden by the mouse driver) middle click on the link.

[#5]

OK, thanks for that, kmilburn.
As to the username thing and you saying:

Quote from: kmilburn

I would be suprised if you don't already have an email  domain, where you can use anything@username.plus.net ... If  you can login to webmail using your username, this indicates the mailbox is setup and ready.

I tried logging in with my username (being simply the word with no @ or no domain, which is what I think is username, but am not sure because sometimes username also includes an @ and a domain), with my password for logging in to the Plusnet portal itself. No doing. So I guess that means it's not setup by default. That said, in a sense I'd be glad because if it were the same password, then it would be known to PN staff just like my portal password is (which I don't like anyway).
Well, it's all a bit of a malarky by what you say about even sub accounts' emails get copied to the default (privacy issues there), and that apparently even a default can't be deleted. I don't think I'll bother, but thanks for the information.

Quote from: kmilburn

I have to disagree here, ...

They could make two; one for each preference.

Quote from: kmilburn

By the way,  ther are two shortcuts to open a link in another tab,  hold ctrl an left click,   or (if not overriden by the mouse driver) middle click on the link.

Yeah, I know about those. I'm just the sort of browser who wants to get on with as few clicks as possible, and with speed, so I hate having to use modifiers. As for middle click, that has never worked for me with any mouse in all my years of using a computer.

[#6]

Quote from: Razer

I tried logging in with my username, with my password for logging in to the Plusnet portal itself. No doing. So I guess that means it's not setup by default. That said, in a sense I'd be glad because if it were the same password, then it would be known to PN staff just like my portal password is (which I don't like anyway).

The default mailbox credentials would be the same username and password that you use to access the portal.
IIRC,  no one at PN should know your password  (CSC only get a couple of letters at a time),  and the only people that would have access to the full password would have unfettered access to the system anway,  making knowing the password irrelivant.

Quote from: Razer

Well, it's all a bit of a malarky by what you say about even sub accounts' emails get copied to the default (privacy issues there), and that apparently even a default can't be deleted.

Email for a specified mailbox will only end up in that mailbox (so no privacy issue), the default mailbox gets everything that doesn't have somewhere else to go.
If there was no default, you couldn't make use of unlimited email aliases (which I make extensive use of),  and everything to an unknown mailbox is bounced or dropped.

[#7]

Quote from: kmilburn

IIRC,  no one at PN should know your password  (CSC only get a couple of letters at a time),  and the only people that would have access to the full password would have unfettered access to the system anway,  making knowing the password irrelivant.

Oh, I see. I thought they saw the whole password and just asked you for some of the letters from that when you're on the phone to them. Though that could still be exploited, given the right circumstances and (wrong) inclination.

Quote from: kmilburn

Email for a specified mailbox will only end up in that mailbox (so no privacy issue), the default mailbox gets everything that doesn't have somewhere else to go.

Huh? That's a contradiction of what you said before:

Quote from: kmilburn

... it is not necessary to create a specific mailbox for a temporary address,  as all email will be delivered to you default mailbox anyway.

[#8]

It's not a contradiction,  the behaviour is dependent on use.
I only use my default mailbox,  so all email will be delivered to it, regardless of what the prefix is.  (me@..., plusnet@..., google@..., etc)
Because of this, I give a different address to each company or website I deal with,  usually containing their own name.
If I was to create a separate mailbox called private,  any email addressed to private@ goes to that mailbox, all other email continues to go to the default.
Other people make more use of named mailboxes for individual people  (e.g.  john@ paul@ george@), email to each of those gets delivered to the individual mailboxes.  Any other email still gets delivered to the default mailbox.

[#9]

Ah, I get you now! Thanks for the clarification.

[#10]

Quote from: kmilburn

Email for a specified mailbox will only end up in that mailbox (so no privacy issue), the default mailbox gets everything that doesn't have somewhere else to go.

Strictly, all emails to a non-defined address go to the "catchall" mailbox. By default, it is the "default" mailbox, but mine goes to "catchall"  
I also use the "identifier" alias method and a few "blackholes", so the catchall mailbox usually only gets unwanted e-mails or e-mails to "forgot to setup" addresses