If there is even a remote possibility that you might have to change to a different ISP in the future, you might as well solve the problem now. Choose one...gmail....or outlook.com...or AOL...get used to using webmail and never worry about it any more.

You might consider getting an account with gmail, yahoo, or another provider of free email addresses. I have a gmail account set up to ping my other email accounts and bring all the mail into gmail.

When I got my Chromebook, I had to start using my gmail address. However, they are very good about forwarding anything that comes to my old address to gmail.

Thank you everyone all great suggestions and I will now look into them.

ISPs want you to use them as your email provider precisely because it is easier to keep you as a customer: you then have extra hurdles to deal with when you want to move on. You not only have to change your own email address, but you have to transfer your email address book, and you may also end up losing access to all of your old emails. As several people mentioned above, switch to an independent email provider so you won't be be indentured to any future ISP by using the address they give you. I've switched ISPs at least 5 times and, the first time I went through the hassle, I saw the light and established an email address independent of an ISP. I've never looked back. Do the same now while you have the opportunity.

Just to say .... if a proper mail client is used (such as Thunderbird) instead of funky web-based mail access, then all mail and the address book is stored local on the user's computer. There is still the issueof changing one's registered address at online banking, discussion boards, etc. but nothing is lost regards to old mail and address book. I've changed my ISP-provided address three times and haven't lost anything.

Personally, I would *never* use a web-based mail interface as my primary access method. I don't want my e-mail stored on someone else's server somewhere, I want it secure on my computer. I do have a throwaway @Yahoo address, but use it via Thunderbird.

There's an opposite view, dadoes, which is...

Using an mail client like Thunderbird or any other is a duplicative and unnecessary step for any email that can be easily accessed using a browser.

Any information in your Thunderbird files has crossed the internet and landed somewhere, from where the download takes place. If messages aren't sent in encrypted form, exposure to third party access has already happened BEFORE you download it to your PC. The Thunderbird download step is the same exposure as opening a browser to read the messages. The cows are out, no need to close the barn door.

Email rarely has sensitive information in it anyway. Are yours an exception to that description?

I don't recommend webmail lightly, but I believe the majority of users reading these posts (the smartphone crowd and the not-a-power-user crowd) would be better served by webmail most of the time. I also use Thunderbird and wouldn't be without it. Just before coming here, I rec'd an emailed flight itinerary that the intended passenger will REQUIRE a hard copy of. As I use Tbird w/POP3 I know that email is now stored on my hard drive where I can print it as needed...even multiple times if needed...knowing that it won't be accidentally deleted from a server somewhere and I will get a better printed result than I would from a browser. For myself, webmail is okay on an as-needed basis, but I also don't want to rely on it for my primary needs.

azioh, I think you're prepared for a problem that's most unlikely to happen. I understand people like using these programs. For a home user (aside from a business use case when it might be required), I've never understood why.

I haven't had a mail system mistakenly delete an important message. Have you? If you think that's a risk, then you could do your printout or other disposition of contents when important messages are first read.

As a last resort, all messages can be re-sent. If an important one gets lost or misplaced, it should be easy enough to get a duplicate or find another way to get the attachment. Flight itineraries are especially easy to get from the airline's website, they're always available.

Many travel and airline sites will do a download that can be easily imported to an electronic calendar. Google mail automatically reads flight info (like itinerary confirms) from emails and puts it on your calendar. For those using other mail systems, there are sites like Trip-it who will provide the same capability.

Well Elmer, it's like this. Believe it or not, I still make use of Usenet (yes, I can hear you sniggering from here). That's the main reason I have Thunderbird. That I also happen to like Tbird for email is a side benefit. As to having a possibly lost message resent, I'd rather avoid unnecessary time constraints and human error factors. Also, I don't make use of any travel or airline sites, nor calendars nor Trip-it. The email I spoke of is sent to me by a third party who did make the booking. YMMV.

After 25 years of using web-based email, and probably receiving and/or sending at least 15,000 emails per year, I don't remember having one I needed to re-visit that was inaccessible because it had been lost by some distant server...but I have had two home hard drives fail. I think the reliability and redundant backup capabilities of Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo servers is better than my own storage. And for people who travel, webmail provides the capability to easily access and print an email or its attachment anywhere in the world whenever needed using whatever computer is handy.

I agree with kudzu.

Usenet, eh? No sniggering from me but I thought that was long-since dead. That's a trip down memory lane, my own experiences in the early days of the character-based, non-WYSIWYG internet in (I think) the late 80s-early 90s when all that was available was the Usenet and IRC chats. I didn't think the Usenet was still active. I checked and my ISP, which otherwise provides great service I have no complaints about (Comcast), apparently stopped Usenet access in 2008.

What do you use it for/what information do you find useful there? Is it very active?

I use it more for entertainment value than anything else. My ISP discontinued access also, but there are still alternatives for free text-only access. I use Eternal September.