I have a couple of opinions here. >Personally, I am close to killfiling groupstudy (and other technical) > > >list posts that originate from throwaway email services such as > > >hotmail. Here\\\'s my reasoning. > > > > > >If you don\\\'t use a free access service (e.g., free dialup/DSL for > > >advertising), you have to be paying for an ISP, or gaining access via > > >an employer, academic, or library account. > > > > > >An ISP account normally includes POP3 access. The cost of additional > > >mailboxes normally is trivial, if perhaps you want different > > >mailboxes for personal and business matters. Even if you need to get > > >to your personal account from work, many intranets allow external > > >POP3 connectivity. And many intranets don't. For example, we block everything that isn't HTTP traffic. POP3 is out of the question. Besides, POP3 is such a PITA because of the local mailbox limitations, and most of the ISPs I've had don't or won't run IMAP. > > >If someone really needs the web-based mail interfaces of a > > >hotmail-type service rather than using POP3 with any of a number of > > >email clients (including browsers), I\\\'d really be uncomfortable with > > >them configuring my routers. If you mean that anyone who "needs" the www interface for simplicity's sake, I would agree. However, the biggest reason I use web-mail is for reasons of accessibility. I don't have to worry about whether a message got downloaded by my mail client at work and is no longer available on the POP server to access when I'm home. And for those of us who do a lot of traveling to other sites (i.e. SE's) web mail is about the only practical thing. Another good thing about web mailboxes is that they don't disappear when you change ISPs. I've had God knows how many POP mailboxes over the years, but I've managed to keep my Yahoo account for three years. That said, I do get frustrated with the limitations of web mail, and I'll use my "regular" mailboxes for big attachments, etc. But for day-to-day regular email, Yahoo is fine. > > >Believe me, someone who posts from an anonymous account, uses \\\"email > > >slang\\\" such as \\\"u\\\" rather than \\\"you,\\\" etc., is not > improving their > > >image in the industry. And image can\\\'t be ignored completely. This is also my experience. One needs to present at least a somewhat professional image to be taken seriously. If one is too lazy to compose proper e-mails, one may be too lazy to configure a router, or anything else, properly. Ken Mays Network analyst, AutoZone ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The information transmitted is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, retransmission, dissemination or other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon, this information by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited. If you received this in error, please contact the sender and delete the material from any computer. _________________________________ FAQ, list archives, and subscription info: http://www.groupstudy.com/list/cisco.html Report misconduct and Nondisclosure violations to [EMAIL PROTECTED]