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Ask HN: Alternatives to Email?

by imagineerschool on 5/29/21, 4:43 AM with 11 comments

I can give people an email address to contact me, but that's certainly not foolproof. What other good and reliable methods are there to let people get in touch?

I'd love to hear about Free and Open solutions, but if you're out there using Discord as your prime external comms channel, I'd love to hear about that too! Thanks!

  • by imagineerschool on 5/29/21, 6:33 PM

    Thanks to everyone, I have realized I need to be more specific.

    I'm setting up my personal website, at myname.url , and I want to have a way of letting people get in touch with me privately and securely.

    Right now I have me@URL alongside me@gmail and me@hey because sometimes mails just don't arrive correctly, or go to spam, etc. Depending on the sender to send again to another address is not satisfying to me.

    I'd prefer not to have to stand up and maintain my own server. I can get a PO box, and I can get a synthetic phone number, but I really crave something I can really trust. Something encrypted, deniable, and having all sorts of nice qualities.

    From an security aesthetics POV, I love projects like https://github.com/maqp/tfc . What other projects like this are there?

  • by sloaken on 5/29/21, 10:38 AM

    Going full old school, your mailing address.

    I am a little confused by the need for 'foolproof'. Do you mean they cannot type it in wrong? Or they might send you junk mail? Or are you worried the email will address will be abandoned? As in we are leaving school, and we always want to keep in touch?

  • by viraptor on 5/29/21, 4:50 AM

    > but that's certainly not foolproof

    What do you mean? What specific issues are you trying to solve or work around?

  • by forgotmypw17 on 5/31/21, 11:44 AM

    Since you're already setting up a website, it can be as easy as a form on your site, with some spam counter-measures.

  • by cpach on 5/29/21, 7:25 AM

    Whatsapp. IRC. SMS. Telephone + voice mail. Snail mail, maybe to a PO box.

  • by throwaway888abc on 5/29/21, 5:13 AM

    Twitter ?

  • by NonEUCitizen on 5/29/21, 7:12 AM

    give your phone number as backup (to select people)

  • by kilodeca on 5/29/21, 7:18 AM

    Fediverse