[tlug] Google Mail Hosting for Domains

["Jim Maricondo" <crazeduser@example.com>]

By the way, I discovered the other day that anyone can sign up for Google Apps for domains, the free version, to get Gmail hosted mail for your domain for up to 100 users (5GB quota each) for free.  Gmail now supports encrypted IMAP, as well as POP/SMTP of course.  You can create domain aliases, user aliases, mailing lists for your domain as well.  I think this is going to put a lot of hosted email companies out of business.

 

PROS

* Free Webmail, IMAP, POP, SMTP for your domain

* 5GB quota

* Integrated Google apps for your domain as well (Calendar, ...)

...

 

CONS

* Need to get used to Gmail's unconventional IMAP implementation (IMAP folders are labels, nested folders can be created by folder1/folder2 label syntax; no "purge"; must subscribe to all folders; etc)

* Can't unflag SPAM messages (to train the spam filter) by IMAP, but you can move them back into your Inbox

* Deleting messages by IMAP does not delete them from Gmail (you can delete them by IMAP if you move them to the Trash folder and empty it which is a pain) but rather just archives them (so they are only available in "All Mail" by IMAP from that point)

 

OTHER

* Google automatically saves a copy of your outgoing messages (if using their SMTP server) in your Sent Mail, so you don't need your email program to save sent messages.

* Deleting a message from a folder by IMAP only removes that folder's label from the message.

 

IMAP links

http://5thirtyone.com/archives/862

http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=75725

http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=77657

 

 -Jim