email address naming convention

beesje · 28 Feb 2009, 06:05 AM

Hi everyone,

This is my first post here, so please be gentle ;-)

I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on email address naming conventions. I realize that the most commonly used corporate naming conventions are firstname.lastname@domain.com or firstletterlastname@domain.com. Now the thing is that I have a firstnamelastname@gmail.com (no dot in between) email address.

Whilst this doesn't bother me for personal use, I also intend to use this address for job applications. I realize I may be over thinking this, but to what extent do you think the lack of the dot may cause a bad impression.

Another alternative is to use my own domain which is www.firstnamelastname.com, but I can't seem to get comfortable with using that as an email address (e.g. mail@firstnamelastname.com).

Anyhow, I'm really looking forward to hearing your opinions.

Kind regards,

-B.

David · 28 Feb 2009, 06:23 AM

Welcome to the forums beesje.

Gmail ignores dots within usernames:

firstnamelastmailATgmail.com will work the same as:
firstname.lastnameATgmail.com

Send a message to yourself (with the dot) and try it.

Note: I used the AT to prevent the address from becoming active.

beesje · 28 Feb 2009, 07:36 AM

Hi David,

Thanks for the prompt reply :-)

I'm aware of Google ignoring the dots, but there is a problem with just changing your email address - namely the sent from address.

If left as default, this will still be the original firtsnamelastnameATgmail.com. Alternatively, the sent from address can be changed in the account settings to firstname.lastnameATgmail.com (with the dot). Unfortunately, this results in the message "sent on behalf of original email address" showing up in some email clients, such as outlook, which I also dislike.

As mentioned, I'm probably over thinking this... What do you think of the firstnamelastname email address without the dot in it?

Oh, and thanks for you input :-)

David · 28 Feb 2009, 07:49 AM

Yes, the 'sent on behalf of' is a deal killer for many.

I live in Canada and the majority of professional folk I worked with used their first initial lastname combination (with no dots) which is what I use myself.

William9 · 28 Feb 2009, 01:13 PM

My impression is the user name makes little difference provided it is a variation of your name rather than something flippant like tootsie. The company that I work for uses this format: lastnamefirstinitial. Another company I know well uses firstname.lastname. An equally important part of the email address to me is the domain name. I respond less favorably to email from domains like AOL and Hotmail. For some reason, they seem less professional to me. Even though Gmail is also a free account, it may have a little more cachet, at least in my opinion. Using your own domain name is good, but it shouldn't be too affected. How about abc@mydomain.com, where the user name is your initials?

Merovingian · 28 Feb 2009, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by William9

An equally important part of the email address to me is the domain name. I respond less favorably to email from domains like AOL and Hotmail. For some reason, they seem less professional to me. Even though Gmail is also a free account, it may have a little more cachet, at least in my opinion. Using your own domain name is good, but it shouldn't be too affected. How about abc@mydomain.com, where the user name is your initials?

This is a very good point. Fastmail has some very good, professionally-sounding domains to use, like:

fastmessaging.com
proinbox.com
emailengine.net
promessage.com

and their all-time best (IMO)......

sent.com

beesje · 1 Mar 2009, 02:47 AM

I agree that most free mail providers cause a somewhat questionable impression. Oddly, I also agree that gmail seems less afflicted by this, although I can't really explain why I feel this way.

I currently also have an enhanced subscription to FM. I use their eml.cc domain extension, which I feel sounds fairly 'serious' and has the added benefit of being short and easily spelled.

The thing is that I would like to consolidate all of my email into one account, and have really come to depend on my gmail calender...

This basically leaves me with the option of using the firstnamelastameATgmailDOTcom address or using my own abc@firstnamelastnameDOTcom address with Google Accounts.

Unfortunately the ideal solution of firstnameATlastnameDOTcom is long gone...

theog · 1 Mar 2009, 06:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by William9

My impression is the user name makes little difference provided it is a variation of your name rather than something flippant like tootsie.

Agree... it really does not matter either way.

Quote:

The company that I work for uses this format: lastnamefirstinitial. Another company I know well uses firstname.lastname. An equally important part of the email address to me is the domain name. I respond less favorably to email from domains like AOL and Hotmail. For some reason, they seem less professional to me. Even though Gmail is also a free account, it may have a little more cachet, at least in my opinion.

I don't even believe anyone looks at the domain anymore only the user name. Actually, my idea and thought is that a domain like aol, hotmail, gmail, etc will raise less flags and put you in with the rest of the sheep. For example, if I see a domain I don't know, I'll normally start looking into it... if I see aol, hotmail.... I know what they are... and can't say I think any more or less of you for using them...

Quote:

Using your own domain name is good, but it shouldn't be too affected. How about abc@mydomain.com, where the user name is your initials?

That is what I use with my business domain... I would get a "5-letter" or good "4-letter" and stick my initials on it. (5-letters are cheaper and can find some good ones....)

My business domain is a 5-letter, even though I have a couple of 4-letter/3-letter. It is a good size with only my initials abc@mydome.com. (mydome is not my domain... lol)

At another place I frequent, they use whatever they can... it is a mess... it is a large org with with many people with the same name.... lol... whatever works... lol

At the end, I think it is more important to be able to pronounce the name easily than anything else.... Username @ aol.com will be easy for someone to write down.... username @ markmilewski. com would be a pain....

Mod: Fixed "live" email address and removed username as possibly belonging to someone.

William9 · 1 Mar 2009, 07:55 AM

Very good point about the easy to remember and easy to pronounce names. I don't agree with you regarding domain name. I think many of us look at that.

vans · 1 Mar 2009, 04:24 PM

In the late 1990's I worked in a small company that used FirstNameInitialOfLastNameATdomainDOTcom. The idea behind it was to show it was a small friendly company in a market dominated by large faceless organisations. I don't think it worked. It was a highly professional company, and when we left phone messages we always left our full name plus the name of the company, never just our first name. They later changed the to firstnameDOTlastnameATdomainDotcom.

28 Feb 2009, 06:05 AM	#1
beesje Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 3	email address naming convention Hi everyone, This is my first post here, so please be gentle ;-) I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on email address naming conventions. I realize that the most commonly used corporate naming conventions are firstname.lastname@domain.com or firstletterlastname@domain.com. Now the thing is that I have a firstnamelastname@gmail.com (no dot in between) email address. Whilst this doesn't bother me for personal use, I also intend to use this address for job applications. I realize I may be over thinking this, but to what extent do you think the lack of the dot may cause a bad impression. Another alternative is to use my own domain which is www.firstnamelastname.com, but I can't seem to get comfortable with using that as an email address (e.g. mail@firstnamelastname.com). Anyhow, I'm really looking forward to hearing your opinions. Kind regards, -B.

28 Feb 2009, 06:23 AM	#2
David Ultimate Contributor Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Canada. Posts: 10,355	Welcome to the forums beesje. Gmail ignores dots within usernames: firstnamelastmailATgmail.com will work the same as: firstname.lastnameATgmail.com Send a message to yourself (with the dot) and try it. Note: I used the AT to prevent the address from becoming active.

28 Feb 2009, 07:36 AM	#3
beesje Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 3	Hi David, Thanks for the prompt reply :-) I'm aware of Google ignoring the dots, but there is a problem with just changing your email address - namely the sent from address. If left as default, this will still be the original firtsnamelastnameATgmail.com. Alternatively, the sent from address can be changed in the account settings to firstname.lastnameATgmail.com (with the dot). Unfortunately, this results in the message "sent on behalf of original email address" showing up in some email clients, such as outlook, which I also dislike. As mentioned, I'm probably over thinking this... What do you think of the firstnamelastname email address without the dot in it? Oh, and thanks for you input :-)

28 Feb 2009, 07:49 AM	#4
David Ultimate Contributor Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Canada. Posts: 10,355	Yes, the 'sent on behalf of' is a deal killer for many. I live in Canada and the majority of professional folk I worked with used their first initial lastname combination (with no dots) which is what I use myself.

28 Feb 2009, 01:13 PM	#5
William9 The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 2,281	My impression is the user name makes little difference provided it is a variation of your name rather than something flippant like tootsie. The company that I work for uses this format: lastnamefirstinitial. Another company I know well uses firstname.lastname. An equally important part of the email address to me is the domain name. I respond less favorably to email from domains like AOL and Hotmail. For some reason, they seem less professional to me. Even though Gmail is also a free account, it may have a little more cachet, at least in my opinion. Using your own domain name is good, but it shouldn't be too affected. How about abc@mydomain.com, where the user name is your initials?

1 Mar 2009, 02:47 AM	#7
beesje Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 3	I agree that most free mail providers cause a somewhat questionable impression. Oddly, I also agree that gmail seems less afflicted by this, although I can't really explain why I feel this way. I currently also have an enhanced subscription to FM. I use their eml.cc domain extension, which I feel sounds fairly 'serious' and has the added benefit of being short and easily spelled. The thing is that I would like to consolidate all of my email into one account, and have really come to depend on my gmail calender... This basically leaves me with the option of using the firstnamelastameATgmailDOTcom address or using my own abc@firstnamelastnameDOTcom address with Google Accounts. Unfortunately the ideal solution of firstnameATlastnameDOTcom is long gone...

1 Mar 2009, 07:55 AM	#9
William9 The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 2,281	Very good point about the easy to remember and easy to pronounce names. I don't agree with you regarding domain name. I think many of us look at that.

1 Mar 2009, 04:24 PM	#10
vans Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 59	In the late 1990's I worked in a small company that used FirstNameInitialOfLastNameATdomainDOTcom. The idea behind it was to show it was a small friendly company in a market dominated by large faceless organisations. I don't think it worked. It was a highly professional company, and when we left phone messages we always left our full name plus the name of the company, never just our first name. They later changed the to firstnameDOTlastnameATdomainDotcom.