Seven Tips for Creating an Email Address

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This is a rant cleverly disguised as a "how to" article.

1) If you want your email address to contain both letters and numbers, resist the temptation to use “L”s or “1”s. It is probably a good idea to stay away from “I”s, too. (Say "no" to tinkerbell11@domain.com).

2) Remember that your email address is just an address, not everything you want to share with the world. That is what the body of the email is for. Otherwise you have an irresponsibly long email address that will cause everyone to hate you each time they have to enter it. (IsaveOrphansFromMeanStepmothersWhyDontYou@domain.com)

3) On a similar point to number two, if your domain name is extra long, remember the KISS principle. (KISS@happyhappyhuntinghouse.rr.co.uk)

4) Just because you have a favorite letter or number doesn't mean that you can't make good use of non-favorites when crafting your address. If you have to count to make sure you have the appropriate number of keystrokes, it is a bad sign. (luckynumber7777777@domain.com)

5) Don’t go too crazy with underscores or other special characters scattered throughout. Trust me on this one, you’ll thank me later. (this_email_address_is_a_bad_idea@domain.com).

6) If, when registering your email address, you misspell a word, START OVER. Don't make people who are correct-spelling conscious misspell words in order to reach you. (defanatelycurius@domain.com)

7) Once you have created your email address, remember what it is. Write it down on a card and carry it with you, if need be. No one will thank you for this, but at least it will prevent your bank, school, work, and want-to-be visiting friends from sending all the important details to a person you’ve never met.

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