Thanks for the interesting replies. I'm sure that if a government wanted to track you down from your ongoing e-mail, they could. But otherwise, I figure it's like putting a lock on your door - it won't keep out someone who's determined to get in, but it keeps out the casual thief. (And, Trew, even that Chinese guy had gone to internet cafes, he wouldn't have to go to the same cafe every time.)
That makes perfect sense about paid e-mail being easier to track, but I recently paid for something with a money order. But otherwise mine have been free. I gave a little more data when I tried Operamail, but outside of that I've been picking low-information ones.
