How often do you change your e-mail and why?

[unicorn]

I received an e-mail from a former student of my late father's, who was an esteemed professor, and has an endowed chair in his name at the university where he was a professor. He had apparently tried unsuccessfully to e-mail my step-mother because he wanted to donate his Required Minimum Distribution from his retirement account towards that chair's fund (the fund provides additional salary over and above the usual professors' salaries, in order to attract the most highly qualified professors). Well, she's changed her email a couple of times over the years, so the former student couldn't reach her. I myself have lost touch with a couple of old acquaintances because they changed their e-mails.

I still have the same e-mail I used since I first set up an email account over 30 years ago on AOL. While I get some occasional snickers from people about what an old dinosaur I am for using such an old service, it doesn't cost me anything, and I can't imagine why I'd want to change it. However, I know a bunch of people who change their e-mail address with some frequency, and/or have multiple addresses, some of which they seldom check. I curious to hear from those who change their e-mail addresses. How often do you do it and why?

On a related issue, I received an e-mail from Facebook with a friend suggestion, and recognized an old college friend, whom I haven't contacted in over a decade. I thought "Oh, I wonder how he's been doing?" so I clicked on adding a friend, but Facebook sent me a message that I couldn't submit a friend request because I "didn't know him." Any idea why Facebook would send me the suggestion, when it wouldn't let me act on their suggestion? This old friend is not someone famous, nor, from his job as listed on the Facebook page, does he appear to be wealthy. 

[omega]

I have an email address that I've had for many years.

However, I now use Firefox relay for signing up to websites and for mailing lists. It basically generates a unique email address, and forwards any emails sent to that address to your main email.

Because I generate a unique email for each website, it makes it harder for hackers to cross-match my accounts. I.e. they can't easily use data leaked from one website to attack my account on another.

So in short, I change my email address both never and all the time

 

1 hour ago, unicorn said:

On a related issue, I received an e-mail from Facebook with a friend suggestion, and recognized an old college friend, whom I haven't contacted in over a decade. I thought "Oh, I wonder how he's been doing?" so I clicked on adding a friend, but Facebook sent me a message that I couldn't submit a friend request because I "didn't know him." Any idea why Facebook would send me the suggestion, when it wouldn't let me act on their suggestion? This old friend is not someone famous, nor, from his job as listed on the Facebook page, does he appear to be wealthy. 

Facebook has an algorithm that may match you through many different means. Potentially you both have set which college you went to, and your ages.

However, your old friend may have locked down who can send him friend requests; so Facebook essentialy has to say "sorry you can't add him", even though they suggested the connection. Usual right hand doesn't know what the left is doing situation in a big company.

[unicorn]

13 minutes ago, omega said:

...Facebook has an algorithm that may match you through many different means. Potentially you both have set which college you went to, and your ages.

However, your old friend may have locked down who can send him friend requests; so Facebook essentialy has to say "sorry you can't add him", even though they suggested the connection. Usual right hand doesn't know what the left is doing situation in a big company.

Thanks for the informative post. It would seem like a pretty easy and intuitive software fix not to suggest the profiles of people who limit their friend requests. But what do I know? Just to get it straight, you don't change the email address that you check regularly, nor what you give to friends, only to companies, right?

[colom-bien]

I've had my OG gmail since it was in beta in the early 2000s. You had to know someone at Google to get one. No other personal emails, except for those used for porn accounts. I didn't want my friends or family to accidentally see a "Tiny Teen dominated by Hung Daddy Dick" subject line pop up. Hahaha. My gmail is about to run out of space...I keep trimming the biggest files. I wonder if that's why some people get new ones...they run out of room.

[floridarob]

3 hours ago, omega said:

Usual right hand doesn't know what the left is doing situation in a big company.

Companies have grown so large that the right hand doesn't know there is a left hand 😳