Custom From Made Stupid!?

sekoitus · 30 Oct 2012, 10:15 PM

I regularly used custom from, and it was easy as pie with the old interface, just had to click edit and then type in my custom email from address.

Now with the new interface I need to create personalities (like *@domain.com) to be able to use custom froms.

Why the change?

I want the quick edit button back. I have some email addresses I don't want to have a personality for, but still like to use them as custom from address.

sflorack · 30 Oct 2012, 10:18 PM

You still don't need to create a personality for each address -- on-the-fly FROM addressing is still there.

Go to Settings, Advanced, and create a personality with an email address such as *@mydomain.com and save it. It doesn't need to be a default. When you compose an email or reply to one, you have the ability to edit the * part; it will take on the TO address upon reply.

sekoitus · 30 Oct 2012, 10:22 PM

Yes? If you read my message, you see I pointed that out in the first place.

However, I don't like this as it is now.

I didn't have to create personalities like this in the previous interface.

I could just quick edit the from address and have it be anything, even if there were no corresponding *@domain.com in the personalities options.

Now as it is I would have to add each domain I want to have custom froms as a personality and that is a pain in the ***.

Dumbing down the system like this is a no-go for me.

brong · 30 Oct 2012, 10:25 PM

It's mostly to protect against sending out emails with incorrect source addresses, which gets us in trouble from spam checkers. It's a one-time annoyance if you're used to doing it the old way, but it's safer and better hygiene for the rest of the world. It makes us better citizens.

There are some changes in the new UI that I don't fully support - but this isn't one of them. I think we got this one right.

TheRincewind · 30 Oct 2012, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brong

It's mostly to protect against sending out emails with incorrect source addresses, which gets us in trouble from spam checkers. It's a one-time annoyance if you're used to doing it the old way, but it's safer and better hygiene for the rest of the world. It makes us better citizens.

There are some changes in the new UI that I don't fully support - but this isn't one of them. I think we got this one right.

Perhaps this can go in the non existing documentation that explains how to do it now it has changed. Talking of which, Brong did you support the way that Beta was promoted to live with NO warning whatsoever?

aPilot · 30 Oct 2012, 10:33 PM

The new method doesn't allow editing of the name portion of the address...

For instance if I had a personality "*@example.com" with a name "John Doe" but wanted to send mail as "John D." from that address, I believe I would have to create an entire personality for that.

What I see happening is: 7 domains x 2 names + 5 various full address = 19 stupid choices in that dropdown, and more to come with every new domain...

sflorack · 30 Oct 2012, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sekoitus

Now as it is I would have to add each domain I want to have custom froms as a personality and that is a pain in the ***.

I guess it would be PITA if you had hundreds of domains.. I have seven and added them all in under a minute.

October2012 · 30 Oct 2012, 11:09 PM

I liked that feature where it's so easy to change the address I'm emailing from.
Is there no quick way of changing it at all?
I mask my fastmail address with a disposal address from an anti-spam website:
a) to enable me to identify those who send me spam; and
b) to nuke any address that I have given which is used to spam me.

I rarely give out my real fastmail address.
Nearly everyone I contact is issued with a unique disposable address.
To continue this practice, I'll need to set up a new identity each time I contact a different person.

Can't fastmail reinstall that easy-to-use feature?

TheRincewind · 30 Oct 2012, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by October2012

I liked that feature where it's so easy to change the address I'm emailing from.
Is there no quick way of changing it at all?
I mask my fastmail address with a disposal address from an anti-spam website:
a) to enable me to identify those who send me spam; and
b) to nuke any address that I have given which is used to spam me.

I rarely give out my real fastmail address.
Nearly everyone I contact is issued with a unique disposable address.
To continue this practice, I'll need to set up a new identity each time I contact a different person.

Can't fastmail reinstall that easy-to-use feature?

It's just a one time new setting. Read above full solutions (unless you have a unique domain and name each time) - specifically one personality with email address *@domain, so if you nospam provider issued unique123@nospamplease.com then you set the personality email address to *@nospamplease.com then on each new email you select that one personality and change the * in the edit box to unique123

sekoitus · 30 Oct 2012, 11:23 PM

Yes but the thing is this new way of doing things is a PITA.

If you have *@domain.com and you need to have like 5 different names for *@domain.com, you are going to have add 5 different personalities.

And if you have several domains and you want multiple names for each of them, your list of personalities is one huge list and not very straightforward to use.

I have used Fastmail for several years and I was really, really accustomed to the way the quick from edit worked.

Taking it away is something I can't condone.

I do agree that maybe for newbies it isn't good practice, but this could be an advanced setting in the account settings. To get to the way it was before...

EDIT: Another way would be to support adding * as a from name and then one could edit the from name also in the compose screen.
That way only one personality would be required per domain.
Still, I'd much more prefer the old way.

EDIT2:
For what it's worth, I would LOVE the new and upgraded FastMail with these two features back from the previous classic interface:

-concise stylesheet
-the quick edit from address without having to use personalities (which creates a big hassle if you need to have multiple names over multiple domains)

October2012 · 31 Oct 2012, 12:58 AM

OK, I can see how to create a personality but I don't see how to switch between personalities and I also can't see how to replace the * in the personality to incorporate a unique name to the email address.

Psycho Ronnie · 31 Oct 2012, 01:05 AM

I'm adding my plea to give us back the Custom From address.

I see the option to make a *@domain.com personality, but that's a pain if you have many domains. Also, when writing an email you can't edit the name, only the email address before the @.

I'm all for progress and the new interface has some advantages, but please don't take away useful features.

TheRincewind · 31 Oct 2012, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by October2012

OK, I can see how to create a personality but I don't see how to switch between personalities and I also can't see how to replace the * in the personality to incorporate a unique name to the email address.

In the compose window above the To field your display name is listed and under that you current personality is shown along with a down arrow. Click on the personality name / down arrow and you will find it drops down a list of all the personalities. Select your 'custom domain' personality and a from field will appear, the left side of this is editable and the right hand side which can't be changed will say @domain.

jfinlayson · 31 Oct 2012, 04:05 AM

I don't use multiple domains, so I'm not as severely impacted as others here, but I'll miss the flexibility, and since my service level allows only 3 personalities, I anticipate some nuisance that wasn't there with the old interface.

I think the good-netizenship argument is undermined a little by the fundamental spoofability of From addresses -- if I can't spoof it through FM's webmail, I can use another tool to do it.

Ironically, when I first started using per-correspondent addresses with FastMail, I largely stopped using email clients because I needed FastMail's webmail interface to use those addresses. Since that time, Thunderbird has added the same flexibility through plug-ins (Virtual Identity). And now that FastMail has decided to limit the flexibility of From-address editing, I may find myself favoring the email client again instead of webmail.

ellentk · 31 Oct 2012, 05:27 AM

Brong wrote:
"It's mostly to protect against sending out emails with incorrect source addresses, which gets us in trouble from spam checkers. It's a one-time annoyance if you're used to doing it the old way, but it's safer and better hygiene for the rest of the world. It makes us better citizens."

What's your feeling about drinking large sodas and not using hand sanitizer while we struggle with these unwanted changes? Excuse me, I have to sing the star spangled banner now, as any good citizen would after posting a comment about Opera's destruction of Fastmail.

Ellen

30 Oct 2012, 10:15 PM	#1
sekoitus Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 12	Custom From Made Stupid!? I regularly used custom from, and it was easy as pie with the old interface, just had to click edit and then type in my custom email from address. Now with the new interface I need to create personalities (like *@domain.com) to be able to use custom froms. Why the change? I want the quick edit button back. I have some email addresses I don't want to have a personality for, but still like to use them as custom from address.

30 Oct 2012, 11:23 PM	#10
sekoitus Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 12	Yes but the thing is this new way of doing things is a PITA. If you have @domain.com and you need to have like 5 different names for @domain.com, you are going to have add 5 different personalities. And if you have several domains and you want multiple names for each of them, your list of personalities is one huge list and not very straightforward to use. I have used Fastmail for several years and I was really, really accustomed to the way the quick from edit worked. Taking it away is something I can't condone. I do agree that maybe for newbies it isn't good practice, but this could be an advanced setting in the account settings. To get to the way it was before... EDIT: Another way would be to support adding * as a from name and then one could edit the from name also in the compose screen. That way only one personality would be required per domain. Still, I'd much more prefer the old way. EDIT2: For what it's worth, I would LOVE the new and upgraded FastMail with these two features back from the previous classic interface: -concise stylesheet -the quick edit from address without having to use personalities (which creates a big hassle if you need to have multiple names over multiple domains) Last edited by sekoitus : 30 Oct 2012 at 11:36 PM.

31 Oct 2012, 04:05 AM	#14
jfinlayson Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Chicago Posts: 82	Editing From Address I don't use multiple domains, so I'm not as severely impacted as others here, but I'll miss the flexibility, and since my service level allows only 3 personalities, I anticipate some nuisance that wasn't there with the old interface. I think the good-netizenship argument is undermined a little by the fundamental spoofability of From addresses -- if I can't spoof it through FM's webmail, I can use another tool to do it. Ironically, when I first started using per-correspondent addresses with FastMail, I largely stopped using email clients because I needed FastMail's webmail interface to use those addresses. Since that time, Thunderbird has added the same flexibility through plug-ins (Virtual Identity). And now that FastMail has decided to limit the flexibility of From-address editing, I may find myself favoring the email client again instead of webmail.

31 Oct 2012, 05:27 AM	#15
ellentk Essential Contributor Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 249	Why make it harder for your customers? Brong wrote: "It's mostly to protect against sending out emails with incorrect source addresses, which gets us in trouble from spam checkers. It's a one-time annoyance if you're used to doing it the old way, but it's safer and better hygiene for the rest of the world. It makes us better citizens." What's your feeling about drinking large sodas and not using hand sanitizer while we struggle with these unwanted changes? Excuse me, I have to sing the star spangled banner now, as any good citizen would after posting a comment about Opera's destruction of Fastmail. Ellen

30 Oct 2012, 10:18 PM	#2
sflorack The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 2,937	You still don't need to create a personality for each address -- on-the-fly FROM addressing is still there. Go to Settings, Advanced, and create a personality with an email address such as @mydomain.com and save it. It doesn't need to be a default. When you compose an email or reply to one, you have the ability to edit the part; it will take on the TO address upon reply.

30 Oct 2012, 10:22 PM	#3
sekoitus Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 12	Yes? If you read my message, you see I pointed that out in the first place. However, I don't like this as it is now. I didn't have to create personalities like this in the previous interface. I could just quick edit the from address and have it be anything, even if there were no corresponding @domain.com in the personalities options. Now as it is I would have to add each domain I want to have custom froms as a personality and that is a pain in the **. Dumbing down the system like this is a no-go for me.

30 Oct 2012, 10:25 PM	#4
brong The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 2,696 Representative of: Fastmail.fm	It's mostly to protect against sending out emails with incorrect source addresses, which gets us in trouble from spam checkers. It's a one-time annoyance if you're used to doing it the old way, but it's safer and better hygiene for the rest of the world. It makes us better citizens. There are some changes in the new UI that I don't fully support - but this isn't one of them. I think we got this one right.

30 Oct 2012, 10:33 PM	#6
aPilot Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 25	The new method doesn't allow editing of the name portion of the address... For instance if I had a personality "*@example.com" with a name "John Doe" but wanted to send mail as "John D." from that address, I believe I would have to create an entire personality for that. What I see happening is: 7 domains x 2 names + 5 various full address = 19 stupid choices in that dropdown, and more to come with every new domain...

30 Oct 2012, 11:09 PM	#8
October2012 Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 18	I liked that feature where it's so easy to change the address I'm emailing from. Is there no quick way of changing it at all? I mask my fastmail address with a disposal address from an anti-spam website: a) to enable me to identify those who send me spam; and b) to nuke any address that I have given which is used to spam me. I rarely give out my real fastmail address. Nearly everyone I contact is issued with a unique disposable address. To continue this practice, I'll need to set up a new identity each time I contact a different person. Can't fastmail reinstall that easy-to-use feature?

31 Oct 2012, 12:58 AM	#11
October2012 Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Posts: 18	OK, I can see how to create a personality but I don't see how to switch between personalities and I also can't see how to replace the * in the personality to incorporate a unique name to the email address.

31 Oct 2012, 01:05 AM	#12
Psycho Ronnie Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 6	I'm adding my plea to give us back the Custom From address. I see the option to make a *@domain.com personality, but that's a pain if you have many domains. Also, when writing an email you can't edit the name, only the email address before the @. I'm all for progress and the new interface has some advantages, but please don't take away useful features.