[ale] OT: tech support hell at Mindspring--followup

[Alan Dobkin]

--On Monday, March 22, 2004 9:09 AM -0500 Robert Heaven 
<robertheaven at earthlink.net> wrote:

> OK, forgive my ignorence but, how does one go about setting up
> their own domain and personal email address? Doesn't there have
> to be an IP address and sendmail server involved somewhere? Who
> provides this kind of service and how much does it cost?

Most domain registrars offer a basic e-mail forwarding service
for free with your domain registration.  That's why I made the
distinction between a POP/IMAP mailbox account and just a basic
forwarding address, although some even offer free mailboxes too.
Basically, the registrar handles the DNS/IP address and sendmail
server in this case as part of their "free parking" service.

Here are a few domain registrars that provide these services:

http://www.GoDaddy.com/

http://www.DirectNIC.com/

http://www.NameCheap.com/

Alternatively, if you don't want your own domain, you could use
one of the many large well-supported e-mail service providers
(i.e. Yahoo, POBox, etc.), but keep in mind that you will always
be subject to their fees and policy changes, storage limits, etc.
With your own domain (or a domain that you share with others like
your family), you have total control of where you direct your e-mail.

Alan

-- 
Alan Dobkin, Principal
Maestro IT Services, LLC
Phone/Fax:  (678) 254-4055 ext. 2
www.MaestroIT.com