Re: Email Portability Approved by Knesset Committee

[Cian Brennan <cian.brennan () redbrick dcu ie>]

On Tue, Feb 23, 2010 at 05:39:53AM -0500, D'Arcy J.M. Cain wrote:
> On Tue, 23 Feb 2010 01:25:42 -0500
> Steven Bellovin <smb () cs columbia edu> wrote:
> > Figuring out how such a solution would work with email is left as an exercise for the reader.
>
> OK, let me give it a shot.
>
> How about if we allow anyone to buy a domain name of their own and then
> hire someone (e.g. their ISP) to manage email for it.  Now when they
> want to change ISPs they just carry their domain with them to the new
> ISP.  That way the only people incurring costs are the ISPs managing
> the domains and the central domain name registrars, two groups who are
> already being paid by the end user to provide the service.
>
> You're using an email address in your ISP's domain?  OK, keep paying
> for it and forward it using the control panel facility of your ISP.  If
> your free account doesn't have that feature then maybe you have to ask
> yourself what you expect for free.
>
> Maybe politicians should just keep their nose out of things that they
> can't understand.  Email addresses aren't phone numbers.
As has been pointed out several times, they can easily be pretty close. Simply
force them to send using the outgoing server of their new ISP, but allow them
to still access their mailbox (which is really the only important bit the ISP
hosts) over pop/imap/whatever. It's not free, but given that the average ISP
seems to give you only a few MB or space, it's hardly going to break the bank.

> -- 
> D'Arcy J.M. Cain <darcy () druid net>         |  Democracy is three wolves
> http://www.druid.net/darcy/                |  and a sheep voting on
> +1 416 425 1212     (DoD#0082)    (eNTP)   |  what's for dinner.

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