OCTADE
@[email protected]

If I were a tech or software dev hiring manager, I would automatically reject all applications coming from free email services like gmail, protonmail, tutanota, outlook, etc. A nerd or hacker should already have their own domain name and email server, or institutional email account.

Also, using a free email service for any personal business is a HUGE data security risk, not just for the applicant, but for the company responding to the applicant. State agencies can snarf such communications to glean inside business information, then sell that information to your competitors, which is probably happening somewhere right now as I write this.

#InfoSec #Email #FreeEmail #Jobs #Gmail
Jan 5, 2025 at 1:15amWeb
Show threadBrian Anderson (He/Him)Jan 5, 2025

@octade @janeadams @fifonetworks this take bothered me more than it should have. Blocking applicants because of the mail server they use is gatekeeping without adding any value to the already tough and sometimes humiliating hiring process and says more about the crappy hiring management than it does about the skills/willingness of the applicant.

Also, as someone who is currently managing security and risk, my job is to balance a need for secure, private communications with a business need for non-sensitive information to be easily transmitted. That means helping people decide what information is maybe not appropriate for *any* email communications, not running around blocking eleventy-billion mailboxes because I don’t like the oligarchy we live and work in.

Show threadNilsJan 5, 2025
@btanderson @octade @janeadams @fifonetworks very much agree, security is always risk management and balancing needs. There are good (anti monopolistic, privacy) reasons not to use gmail & outlook, but self-hosting mail says not a lot about the security of the mails.
Also Tutanaota and Proton have paid options, so are these somehow better according to that reasoning? And regarding institutional mail as a "good" option: most orgs use o365, so we are back to outlook.
Show threadBrian Anderson (He/Him)Jan 5, 2025

@janeadams @octade @fifonetworks @thasl

yeah, exactly.

On a purely pragmatic operational level, the help desk is now in flames because of the ridiculous number of user tickets created for blocked emails from institutional adomains hosted on o365 or gsuite.

Show threadTom BortelsJan 5, 2025

@octade @janeadams @fifonetworks

Long ago, I ran (and wrote much of) the email service for a popular regional ISP.

When that relationship ended, I considered running my own email and sundries like DNS - and as a professional, rejected it as a bad idea.

Here's my reasoning: assume just for kicks I am TEN TIMES more awesome than your average google email guru. i'm not, but just for argument's sake, assume that.

Can I do a better job than a multi-billion dollar company hiring *thousands* of competent devs and ops staff? For free? Do I want to work for free? I hope it's obvious the answer is "hell no". Features and stability take time and effort - trust me on that. And google can and did do a much better job than I could hope to do solo on a shoestring budget.

That was 2 decades ago. Email is far uglier now to competently set up and admin from scratch. If I see someone with their own domain, it suggests they have a lot of free time and DIY compulsion, or are paying someone. Either way it's neither compelling nor disqualifying.

Google provides an incredibly stable service with top-notch security (you *are* using a hardware token right?) for free. And if you need to grow they can accommodate. It's a pity they dropped the "do no evil" bit - If I move off them (as I have for search and browsers) - that's going to be why, not their technical chops.

Show thread⚯ Michel de Cryptadamus ⚯Jan 5, 2025
@tbortels @octade @janeadams @fifonetworks most people with their own domains in 2024 are just google workspace customers
Show threadTom BortelsJan 5, 2025

@cryptadamist @octade @janeadams @fifonetworks

That or microsoft (so many outlook users) or other cloud providers. Absolutely.

I wonder how many domains actually serve their own mail anymore. Damn few, but I know some die-hards who I expect still do it. Gotta be sub-1%.

Show thread⚯ Michel de Cryptadamus ⚯Jan 5, 2025
@tbortels @octade @janeadams @fifonetworks i have a friend who still does it. i think he's nuts.