I’m trying to move away from Google and replace my Gmail account. But reading about the different options, I’m realizing I don’t really understand email at all - e.g. the difference between the client and the domain name, the different protocols, encryption.
Does anyone have articles or books to suggest as a “Basics of Email: 101”? Thank you!
Thank you, yes I agree and I’m not interested in hosting my own mail server. I’m just realizing that I don’t really understand the difference between a mail provider and a domain, and I’ve run into issues before with different mail protocol settings (like when I tried to connect a school outlook account to Thunderbird and couldn’t get it to work because of (I think) IMAP settings).
It’s something I use all the time, and I’d like to better understand how it works.
A domain is a url, like oaksprout.com. A provider is a server/computer that the domain points at. Many services sell both together at an upcharge, but a domain itself usually costs like ~$15 a year
If an IP address is a mailing address, imagine a domain as a way to pay the post office so people can just address it to oaksprout. You could have them forward your mail to your house, or you could send it to a PO box or business address, and change it whenever you want
The provider is like the mailbox in this metaphor… It receives the mail and holds it for you
In your case Google would be the host/provider of your Gmail e-mail service and gmail.com is the domain name of the Gmail e-mail service.
Having your own domain name would allow you to keep you e-mail address even when switching your e-mail host. Which means you would not have to bother with re-registering you new e-mail address for every service or newsletter again.
yourname@yourdomain.com would always be yours no matter which e-mail provider you choose, IF they support a personal domain.