E-Mail Addresses

[JackWolfgang]

I see this quite often, and I wonder: Why don't people with domains use addresses on the domain?

For example:

www.example.com

But Staff MemberA uses MemberA@hotmail.com
Staff MemberB uses SMemberB@yahoo.com
StaffMemberC uses MemC1234@aol.com

Why not push using the domain-related e-mail addresses with a naming standard?

An example of this:

Example Church: www.example.org

Joe Smith, Senior Pastor: jsmith@example.org
Jane Doe, Office Manager: jdoe@example.org
Fred Jones, Youth Minister: fjones@example.org

Or if you wanted to go friendlier:

joes@example.org, janed@example.org, fredj@example.org

Also remember that e-mail addresses should be case-insensitive, so JoeS@example.org is the same as joes@example.org.

Just wondering here....

[flutem3]

Well, Jack,

First of all, maybe they didn't think of it. :D

Second, maybe they don't have the capacity on their "stuff" to have a number of email addresses. Does that make sense? I have seen software that allows x number of email...and some that allow just 1 or 2...unless I read it wrong.

Third, I may have read it wrong.

Carol

[David Gillaspey]

Hi Jack,

Good question.

Here's one possible explanation: Small churches often have staff members, whether paid or not, who don't work out of the church office. The reason for this is because the church doesn't have much of an office to begin with.

The email address of "jsmith@churchdomain.com" works best in the situation where people work at the church office and get their email while using the church computers. But certainly, it's technically possible to set up an email account for "jsmith@churchdomain.com" that J. Smith can access from his or her home computer. But I suspect people aren't technically savvy enough to know how to do this, even though it's easy. As an example, my email program downloads email for several accounts related to Great Church Websites; two accounts related to my church (-to-be); The Networked Church; one account related to my personal website/online resume, www.davidgillaspey.com, and my personal home email address (Comcast). Thus, it's quite possible to download from home emails sent to one's church staff email address along with personal email.

Now the problem may be the "at home" part of the equation. In small churches (and some large churches), church leaders are lay ministers who may very well be working at a paid secular job all daylong. It may be that these lay leaders are comfortable accessing their Yahoo or Hotmail email via a browser, but don't know how to access, via a browser, their church staff email. Also, for someone accessing their church staff email via a browser while working at a secular job, there's more anonymity with Yahoo or Hotmail then accessing their church staff email via the browser. The latter leaves a domain trail (I made that up) in the browser History cache.

And finally, church leaders may use "jsmith@hotmail.com" to avoid spam. (My apologies to the real "jsmith@hotmail.com" for any spam you get because of this post.)

Those are my thoughts anyway.

Sincerely,

David Gillaspey
President
Great Church Websites

[chrisb_ebc]

David,
If this is the case, whoever is setting up the accounts..why not just setup forwards up.

I agree with Jack in the uniformity of things. I think it looks tacky personally seeing a AOL accounts or hotmail accounts listed. Specially on church sites that I know are large congregations and to me I have to laugh cause they have a awesome website then see the silly email address's like lvrofgod348957234@aol.com

the one downside of forwards is...well on my hosting site anyway...a general flush of the mailbox is needed every once in a while.

[David Gillaspey]

Hi Chris,

Yes, I forgot to mention forwards.

And I agree, personal email addresses do appear sort of silly on a church website. And why expose your personal email address to spambots?

Sincerely,

David Gillaspey
President
Great Church Websites

[flutem3]

Hi, You Guys,

That is why we use a "Contact Us" page. None of us have an email address on the website. And we are happy with it that way too.

And with a "Contact Us" page, people who do not have Outlook Express can email us if they choose which has only happened three times...twice by the same person. She likes the page.

Carol

But we have a number of people who use the prayer request...just a few.