Email is one of the most basic things that people do on the Internet. It's the fundamental way of communicating with other people, who are out there, online. If you don't have an email address, then you are missing out on a wide range of things you can do. Meeting people from all around the world and being able to communicate with them is fun and fascinating.
There is one little problem though. If you have your email address through your Internet service provider, then you may have to worry about security. If someone decides that they want to hunt you down, they can probably figure out where you are through your email address. The chances of this happening are very slim, but it's still there.
These days security is more important than ever, especially when you are on the World Wide Web. Whenever you fill out a form, send and receive email or create a Web site, security may be on your mind.
If you have a Web site you probably want to hear from other people who read your site. There are a couple ways to do this while still being secure. One way to do this is by placing a feedback form on your site. With a feedback form your readers can tell you who they are as well as send you messages that will be sent to you through your email. They will never see your email address but can send you emails anyway.
Another way is to have a guestbook. These are very popular on personal Web pages. This allows your readers to post messages to you on your site. Each message will be readable by all your other readers so they can see what others think of your site.
A bulletin board, or forum, is a fun thing to have on your site, provided you have enough traffic. This allows your readers to communicate with each other, as well as with you. When a reader posts a message it will show on your site, just like with the guestbook. The difference is that other people can respond to the message, thus creating a conversation.
If you really want to include your email address, though, there is a way to this while still being secure. You could sign up for online email. When you sign up for an online email address, your email is kept private, so you are safe.
Online email addresses are also good for keeping your identity a secret. Sometimes when someone creates an online diary or personal page, they don't want anyone to know who they are, especially people they know. By using an online email address, no one will know who you are.
Another thing online email is good for is keeping your site's email separate from your other email. Maybe you don't want email from your site sent to your regular email address, now you don't have to. If you share your computer with others, and you don't want them checking your email, online email is for you. Only you can see your mail, no one else.
Also, if you change Internet service providers, or move, you don't have to change your email address. You can keep this email address for as long as the service is available, that could be forever.The best part about this is that these email accounts can be accessed from anywhere in the world, as long as you have Internet access. You don't even have to have an Internet service provider to have online email. You can access it from your friends house, a library, an Internet cafe or anywhere you can get access to the Internet.
Most of these free online email accounts come with several MB of space for your email, POP 3 email access, personalized email addresses, folders to organize your email, spam filters and much more. POP 3 access from your online account is a great feature to have because it allows you to access your regular email from your online email account. This way you can access your regular email from anywhere too.
Checking your online email is easy too. Just go to the service's homepage and log in. Then you will see your email folders where you can check your email. You can also create new folders to organize your mail so you can keep email for different things in different places for easy access, just like a regular email program.
