I see that you posted in three threads about this topic today, so it must be important to you. I agree with the comments by the various posters. You should always keep in mind the business case for something you obtain which is marketed as "free". There is no free lunch, and no truly free email account. If you are paying a direct payment for the account, the provider has another revernue stream to allow them to keep the email account open. Free email accounts have no direct support and often have few features. You get what you pay for.
- They might be providing free accounts to encourage potential customers to try the service. There is no benefit to the provider unless you use the account (to get excited about the service), so such free accounts are usually terminated without frequent use.
- Other companies provide advertising, so they are similar to commercial TV, commercial radio, or YouTube. GMail and Yahoo make money by directing advertising to you in various manners. If you aren't using the service your eyeballs aren't seeing their advertising, so they don't have any incentive to continue your account.
Bill