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How about a new email address ?

22 responses

Back in 2011, we conducted some Thunderbird product research and found that a large proportion of respondents was expecting to obtain an new email address with Thunderbird. As unexpected as this finding was, we looked at it more closely and got convinced that this was a very nice feature.  Since Mozilla is not in the business of email service, we decided to partner with email service providers to provide a great range of options. Some of them offer free email, some others paid service. For example, some would offer an address with my last name as a domain name for a small fee: John Smith will then then be able to buy john@smith.com. Some others will propose super secured crypto email, backup features… you name it. All of this from Thunderbird. Awesome !

So here we are now in 2012, putting the last touch to it. And this is how it looks like:

Of course, we take great care of privacy. For example, only the explicitly chosen providers will be asked for an email suggestion. In the same way, we work hard with them to ensure their privacy policy is line with Mozilla principles.

We’re now close to launching this feature. As a matter of fact, you can already play with it if you use the current Thunderbird beta version. We only have allowed one email provider, but that should give you an idea of how it works. Please, go and give it try!

Of course, the more providers we can propose, the better and this is where you can help:

(private messages can be sent to thunderbird [at] mozilla.com)

We are truly excited by this feature. This is one of the many to come in the next months. We hope you will enjoy it – let us know what you think.

22 responses

astringues wrote on

I strongly recommend http://www.mailoo.org as email provider, for they are convinced of the importancy of OpenSource software (members of the APRIL)

Thunderbird to Start Offering Email Addresses wrote on

[…] “Back in 2011, we conducted some Thunderbird product research and found that a large proportion of respondents was expecting to obtain an new email address with Thunderbird. As unexpected as this finding was, we looked at it more closely and got convinced that this was a very nice feature,” Mozilla wrote. […]

caméléon wrote on

Is there any plan to support French (and non English) mail providers? I think that laposte.net and gmx could be great alternative

JK wrote on

Sounds like a great idea–are there any free email providers that do that too?
(Or maybe that is too much to ask for free.)

HELP WANTED: Help us find Email Providers compatible with Mozilla at Roland's Mozilla Blog wrote on

[…] We’d love to have more mail providers for the upcoming Thunderbird feature to create a new email account. Know of any? Please have them email thunderbird AT mozilla.com Full details: http://blog.mozilla.org/thunderbird/2012/02/28/how-about-a-new-email-address/ […]

Eric Moore (aka Tanstaafl) wrote on

I remember when this was an experimental account provisioning add-on that only supported buying an account from Tucows/Hover. Its great that you’re adding support for other email providers, including free email accounts. However, it doesn’t seem pro-consumer.

The only information it appears to provide is the email address and the cost. It doesn’t tell the user who provides it (though you can select a provider in the search), how big the mailbox is, or whether it supports POP and/or IMAP.

I use Fastmail (www.fastmail.fm) as my main email provider. They target IMAP power users, somebody who wants more than just a big mailbox. They have four different personal plans (one of them free) and over a 100 domains. Another reason for choosing them over a free IMAP account at aim.com, gmail.com, gmx.com etc. is that you get real customer support.

None of that type of information seems to be available to a user when they’re making a decision. The same type of issues occur when I think of other commercial IMAP email providers such as runbox, tuffmail etc. trying to compete with free email addresses from gmail.

Please consider adding POP and IMAP radio buttons to the search filter and providing a link in the search results (for the selected email address) that a user can click on to get more information about what they’re buying. That would make it easier to support additional use cases. I’m talking about a web page in a tab that describes what the email provider offers, similar to what is already probably on their web site, but without any “sign up now” buttons that might confuse the user.

Will it only offer “email addresses” that won’t send the password in the clear when a user logs in (i.e. SSL/TLS etc.)? If not, please consider warning the user.

The experimental account provisioning add-on had a end user license that claims it wouldn’t record “personally identifying information” but never defined that term. Please provide some details on how the password is created and who (both Mozilla and the email provider or just the email provider) knows what it is.

Is there any plan to eventually support family accounts too?

Jb Piacentino wrote on

Eric: I think we’re trying to make this feature as consumer friendly as possible. We’re showing the email provider, the propose email addresses and whether this service is free or paid. The service details are in general described right after you’ve chosen the address, but I understand this might be a little late to some tastes. Your point about having a description for the service is very valid and we’ll take it into account although I cannot promise we’ll have it at launch.
Your other suggestions are also very valid and I’m sure our UX team will look into it – You’re of course very welcome to contribute with design ideas… !

Caméléon: Absolutely. The more providers there are, the better it is, and the more local they are, the even better it is !

JK: Sure. The idea is to offer BOTH free and paid service.

Eric Moore (aka Tanstaafl) wrote on

You said: “The service details are in general described right after you’ve chosen the address”. That is not what I see.

I just tried searching for tanstaafl77 using the Hover provider with the latest daily build (13.0.a1). It only listed the email address and the price. I pressed the $20 button and it displayed a “Who do we bill for me@tanstaafl77.com?” web page that wanted me to provide my credit card information, choose a password and an organization name.

I don’t consider having to fill out SIXTEEN fields and then press the Continue button a viable way to get basic information on what I’m buying. I realize it says “Don’t worry, you’ll be able to confirm your information before submitting your order”, but I shouldn’t have to put myself at risk just to find out the mailbox size and does it support POP or IMAP.

It doesn’t even have a back button if I decide not to buy that email address and want to go back to the search results. I have to close the window and start from scratch every single time I want to find out what I am actually buying.

IMHO this feature is not ready for a beta and should still be an experimental add-on, so that you can respond to feedback quicker.

Thunderbird Bakal Menawarkan Sokongan Mendaftarkan Emel Melalui Klien | Amanz wrote on

[…] mengatasi perkara ini, Mozilla bekerjasama bersama-sama dengan beberapa penyedia alamat emel, dan menawarkan alamat emel percuma, mahupun […]

Timothy wrote on

This is great news! I would immediately change my email to a Mozilla-related email address. You should think about getting into the email business. I’m sure millions would switch over, even if it was a paid-only service. Mozilla’s commitment to privacy and security would instantly make it one of the most popular emails, in my opinion.

Keep up the great work!
Timothy

Thunderbird to Start Offering Email Addresses | Prasid.in | Professional solution for you wrote on

[…] we looked at it more closely and got convinced that this was a very nice feature,” Mozilla wrote.“Since Mozilla is not in the business of email service, we decided to partner with email […]

Jeffrey Petersen wrote on

this is good but i want a new email address

dbcooper.nz wrote on

Could you monetize this service by offering preference to gmail, for example?

chris wrote on

That and “default new e-mail provider” #mozilla #revenue stream #diversify

Fabian Rodriguez wrote on

What is required to be able to auto-provision new email accounts like this? I’d like to be able to provide only the domain name to family members, for example, and they could then have email created for them on the server, getting a code, perhaps?

In the spirit of keeping web services autonomous, and letting anyone set their own email provisioning server, I think this would be an important addition.

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My Homepage wrote on

Thanks for the write up! Also, just a heads up, your RSS feeds aren’t working. Could you take a look at that? 185653

fatbyucke wrote on

What is “my area”? Thunderbird only lists ONE email provider because there were no others “IN MY AREA”. I use Gmail and last I looked there is no Google/Gmail facilities “IN MY AREA”.

Roger Faus wrote on

What is required to be able to auto-provision new email accounts like this? I’d like to be able to provide only the domain name to family members, for example, and they could then have email created for them on the server, getting a code, perhaps?

Mike wrote on

Why do I not get sound when opening an email (with video). No sound on the video, but sound in all other areas. I have windows 7. Appears to be a problem with Thunderbird. Would like some help. Thanks

Kathryn wrote on

My computer had to be rebuilt and I lost all of my passwords. How do I get back into my Thunderbird email? help!

(Sorry, I gave you my Thunderbird email address with my comment. Here is the one I can be reached at for the time being.)

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