End of support for @operamail.com addresses

bipbop · 14 Apr 2021, 04:10 PM

My sister got a mail from Fastmail regarding this, and it seems legit:

https://www.fastmail.help/hc/en-us/a...-com-addresses

Maybe I'm blind, but I would have expected it being a thread about it here.

Berenburger · 15 Apr 2021, 07:43 AM

Why?
I see, Fastmail does not own the domain operamail.com.
Does Opera want it back?
Are they going to start an email service again?

bipbop · 15 Apr 2021, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Berenburger

Why?
I see, Fastmail does not own the domain operamail.com.
Does Opera want it back?
Are they going to start an email service again?

A Chinese company owns Opera now. I guess they are pulling the strings..

bipbop · 15 Apr 2021, 07:59 AM

Well, I changed mine now, and it was surprisingly easy. I was afraid that alias forwarding would need manual editing, but they all updated to the new address automagically.

Edit: I just want to say it must really suck for those that use operamail.com as their main address and need to change for a lot of services/sites they are signed up to. I shudder when thinking of the job I would have needed to do myself. I have close to 500 I would have needed to change. I have never been more happy about only using my operamail.com address for logging into Fastmail than now!

placebo · 16 Apr 2021, 03:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bipbop

Edit: I just want to say it must really suck for those that use operamail.com as their main address and need to change for a lot of services/sites they are signed up to. I shudder when thinking of the job I would have needed to do myself. I have close to 500 I would have needed to change. I have never been more happy about only using my operamail.com address for logging into Fastmail than now!

I've abandoned my main email address before, and it can be quite the task. While daunting, it is doable and not too bad if you spread it out over time. For example, if you did just twenty a day, you'd be done in about a month. It's a good thing Opera and FastMail are giving users until 2022 to deal with the situation.

One benefit I found was getting rid of stale accounts that were deleted or perhaps for sites that no longer existed. I took it as an opportunity to strengthen many passwords and update contact info.

bipbop · 16 Apr 2021, 04:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by placebo

I've abandoned my main email address before, and it can be quite the task. While daunting, it is doable and not too bad if you spread it out over time. For example, if you did just twenty a day, you'd be done in about a month. It's a good thing Opera and FastMail are giving users until 2022 to deal with the situation.

One benefit I found was getting rid of stale accounts that were deleted or perhaps for sites that no longer existed. I took it as an opportunity to strengthen many passwords and update contact info.

Yeah, I figure at least 10% of those 500 are duds I could delete, if I looked at them.

Indeed, having a year to do it should make it bearable for most.

Though I find it a bit odd that my sister got the notice, but I didn't. She called me. Apparently she thought Fastmail only had that one email domain to offer. So she interpreted the mail as Fastmail shutting down their business.

TenFour · 16 Apr 2021, 08:15 AM

The worst problem is that no matter how many people you notify about the change of address I find that about 10% actually update their address books. Even many businesses keep sending emails to old addresses long after I've updated them. In some cases important emails. I recently was able to reconnect to an email address I hadn't used in more than 10 years and almost immediately I started receiving things from organizations that I hadn't heard from in 10 years!

guest2k · 16 Apr 2021, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TenFour

The worst problem is that no matter how many people you notify about the change of address I find that about 10% actually update their address books. Even many businesses keep sending emails to old addresses long after I've updated them. In some cases important emails. I recently was able to reconnect to an email address I hadn't used in more than 10 years and almost immediately I started receiving things from organizations that I hadn't heard from in 10 years!

VERY TRUE!

TenFour · 16 Apr 2021, 08:04 PM

One thing I've done that can help with address changes is to put a label on incoming mail from that address or domain, or have it filtered somehow into a category or folder that prompts you to notice each email when it arrives. Then you can easily target that particular sender for attention concerning the address change. A personal note from you or even a phone call can work better than a generic "please update your records" request. In a few cases I have found it impossible to get a business to update their records properly. It is interesting that so many make it difficult to update an email, but I have also learned that we are a rare breed on this forum that utilize more than one email address. Many people just soldier on using the same stupid email address they created in high school, which works OK if it is with a big provider like Gmail or Outlook.com. I manage some lists and it is amazing how many @aol and @earthlink addresses I still see.

janusz · 18 Apr 2021, 12:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TenFour

Many people just soldier on using the same stupid email address they created in high school, which works OK if it is with a big provider like Gmail or Outlook.com. I manage some lists and it is amazing how many @aol and @earthlink addresses I still see.

Changing email (or postal) address is a hassle. Why should one do it unless absolutely necessary? What's wrong with @aol and @earthlink addresses?

TenFour · 18 Apr 2021, 12:47 AM

An @aol or @earthlink email address instantly brands you as someone of a certain age, which might be fine for many things but not if you are applying for a job or using it for business. Never use one like that to apply for a tech job. Age discrimination is real. Also, in general, you want an email address that is as short as possible, easy to spell, and memorable or else you will find it is often entered incorrectly by people who are trying to reach you. Even automated seeming systems often rely on some human in the background re-entering your email address by hand and mistakes are often made.

bipbop · 18 Apr 2021, 12:59 AM

Well, I got the notice yesterday from Fastmail. Maybe they are sending them spread out so not to be overwhelmed with support requests. Which makes me wonder how many still use operamail addresses. Would be fun to know.

janusz · 18 Apr 2021, 01:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TenFour

, in general, you want an email address that is as short as possible, easy to spell, and memorable

@aol is hard to beat

bipbop · 18 Apr 2021, 02:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by janusz

@aol is hard to beat

It's correct that AOL addresses carry with them a certain kind of stigma, though. Would I hire someone using it for a tech job? Any kind of resume would become 'tainted' if coming from someone using such an address. It would at least warrant a good explanation from the job applicant, I think.

14 Apr 2021, 04:10 PM	#1
bipbop Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 197	End of support for @operamail.com addresses My sister got a mail from Fastmail regarding this, and it seems legit: https://www.fastmail.help/hc/en-us/a...-com-addresses Maybe I'm blind, but I would have expected it being a thread about it here.

15 Apr 2021, 07:59 AM	#4
bipbop Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 197	Well, I changed mine now, and it was surprisingly easy. I was afraid that alias forwarding would need manual editing, but they all updated to the new address automagically. Edit: I just want to say it must really suck for those that use operamail.com as their main address and need to change for a lot of services/sites they are signed up to. I shudder when thinking of the job I would have needed to do myself. I have close to 500 I would have needed to change. I have never been more happy about only using my operamail.com address for logging into Fastmail than now! Last edited by bipbop : 15 Apr 2021 at 08:14 AM.

15 Apr 2021, 07:43 AM	#2
Berenburger The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 2,905	Why? I see, Fastmail does not own the domain operamail.com. Does Opera want it back? Are they going to start an email service again?

16 Apr 2021, 08:15 AM	#7
TenFour Master of the @ Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: USA Posts: 1,722	The worst problem is that no matter how many people you notify about the change of address I find that about 10% actually update their address books. Even many businesses keep sending emails to old addresses long after I've updated them. In some cases important emails. I recently was able to reconnect to an email address I hadn't used in more than 10 years and almost immediately I started receiving things from organizations that I hadn't heard from in 10 years!

16 Apr 2021, 08:04 PM	#9
TenFour Master of the @ Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: USA Posts: 1,722	One thing I've done that can help with address changes is to put a label on incoming mail from that address or domain, or have it filtered somehow into a category or folder that prompts you to notice each email when it arrives. Then you can easily target that particular sender for attention concerning the address change. A personal note from you or even a phone call can work better than a generic "please update your records" request. In a few cases I have found it impossible to get a business to update their records properly. It is interesting that so many make it difficult to update an email, but I have also learned that we are a rare breed on this forum that utilize more than one email address. Many people just soldier on using the same stupid email address they created in high school, which works OK if it is with a big provider like Gmail or Outlook.com. I manage some lists and it is amazing how many @aol and @earthlink addresses I still see.

18 Apr 2021, 12:47 AM	#11
TenFour Master of the @ Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: USA Posts: 1,722	An @aol or @earthlink email address instantly brands you as someone of a certain age, which might be fine for many things but not if you are applying for a job or using it for business. Never use one like that to apply for a tech job. Age discrimination is real. Also, in general, you want an email address that is as short as possible, easy to spell, and memorable or else you will find it is often entered incorrectly by people who are trying to reach you. Even automated seeming systems often rely on some human in the background re-entering your email address by hand and mistakes are often made.

18 Apr 2021, 12:59 AM	#12
bipbop Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 197	Well, I got the notice yesterday from Fastmail. Maybe they are sending them spread out so not to be overwhelmed with support requests. Which makes me wonder how many still use operamail addresses. Would be fun to know.