Anonymity safe with "Mailinator"
We shouldn't complain. Communication is best when it's simple and straightforward, and there aren't a lot of ways to improve on a letter.
One new step comes from a service dubbed "the Mailinator." This idea is so simple it's amazing Microsoft hasn't borrowed it.
The best explanation comes from a practical example: Someone asks for your e-mail address to send some potentially useful information.
Because this is someone you neither know nor trust, there is no chance you'll provide your real address. So you make one up on the spot. I might come up with charlie@mailinator.com.
The next day, I log on to the Mailinator page to check messages and type the address into the login window to display any and all messages sent to that locale.
There is no password required, and it doesn't cost a cent.
You wouldn't use Mailinator as your only inbox, any more than you would only be reachable through the bulletin board at the bus station.
In the first place, it's not secure.
If I check mail for charlie@mailinator.com I will see messages from anyone in the world who spat out that address to a potential contact.
For this reason, the program brings along its own behavioral rules: If there is a message that's intended for some other Charlie, don't take it off the board.
More to the point, you can increase security a bit by choosing a less obvious name.
There are a dozen other reasons why this service is inadequate for most applications. Lack of security aside, you can't send or receive attachments or rely on it to work flawlessly (although I sent a half-dozen messages without a delay).
Any free service is less than ideal for this reason. If you aren't paying, you have no right to complain.
There are, however, a few situations where this is ideal.
There are the aforementioned potential business contacts who have yet to earn your trust. You don't want to give out your address to someone at a wild party.
Similarly, there is the dating scene. Unprotected mail, we all know, is a bad idea.
The service also gives you a way to track the people you meet. If a message arrives to greeneyes@mailinator.com, you can immediately picture your correspondent (there is the potential for derision here, but it's always better to be nice).
There is another potential roadblock to Mailinator bliss. This is a free service, run at the whim of the sponsor. So it could quit any time, if the sponsor gets bored or goes broke.
For this reason you want to use it now, before it goes away. To join, visit www.mailinator.net.
If you have questions or suggestions for Charles Bermant, you can contact him by e-mail at cbermant@seattletimes.com. Type Inbox in the subject field. More columns at www.seattletimes.com/columnists.