Ex-AOL Customer asks FCC to create mandatory "e-mail address portability."

[Kristijntje]

The Federal Communications Commission is being asked to do a remarkably silly thing: create mandatory "e-mail address portability."

The idea is that because the U.S. Post Office offers to forward physical mail, and because FCC rules require telephone service providers to offer number portability, the same principle should be extended to e-mail accounts...

full article: http://www.news.com/8301-13578_3-9790821-38.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

[BellisimaJ.]

the same principle should be extended to e-mail accounts...

I don't think so..........

Your email addr. contains your isp name----that isn't a problem when you keep a phone no. or forward mail. Allowing this would be a different animal entirely, and would also contribute much to anonymity (not in a good way) on the net.

Why are so many AOL users idiots? 

[rose]

The loss of an e-mail address is therefore a crushing blow to any business since not only does all the collateral material have to be discarded, but all the good will that has been generated over the years with that address can be lost in a second if the address is terminated.

If you're using an AOL email address as your primary business email you don't have a business.  ;D

1. If you're running any kind of business, even a freelance writing business, it's naive to use an AOL, Hotmail or Yahoo e-mail address.

[bargainbloodhound]

require ISPs to port e-mail traffic to new e-mail addresses designated by customers. There is no technical reason at all why an e-mail sent to "customer@aol.com" could not be automatically forwarded by AOL to "customer'snewaddress@yahoo.com."

The obviously thinks bandwidth is free  :

[FiberGuy]

There is no technical reason at all why an e-mail sent to "customer@aol.com" could not be automatically forwarded by AOL to "customer'snewaddress@yahoo.com.

I've changed ISPs ohhhhh.... 'bout 8-10 times (or more) since the early 90's, each time getting a new email - I can't even think of the problems this would cause.

Aside from the bandwidth issue - with is 100% legitimate - I believe this would also allow another avenue for the spammers to use.  Just what the internet needs!   :

Cheers