The Future of Email Account Usernames

[kyphysics]

I tried creating a new Gmail account. I have several that have become de facto defunct (lost passwords with no way to recover). . .

I've noticed every combination of words/letters for my attempted new username entry had been taken. That sucks. I had to literally come up with a stupid username that doesn't even tie into my account name just to create that account.

Sooo,...given that the human population is overall expanding (despite some people dying) and presumably more and more people will have Gmail accounts over time, do you think we'll reach a "threshold" in the near future where you have to do highly contorted username creations to create an account for yourself?

Like Joe Smith's Gmail account is:

x752.gtv!-JOE@gmail.com

I've tried all the typical variations: last name.first name...first name/last initial...last initial/first name...first name/birth year...first name/zip code...I tried all kinds of bizarre combos...

etc. ..etc...etc...NONE WORKED...I got so mad, I just made up some dumb word/letter combo with zero resemblance to my account name to get past that stage of account creation.

Anyone have any creative ideas for how to create a viable username for Gmail that isn't take already?

 

[russ_watters]

You should probably fix your issue with password management or that will keep happening. I don't think it's ever happened to me.

It's been a while since I got my Gmail account, but doesn't Gmail make suggestions when it says the one you want is taken?

Otherwise, a personal domain name would help, but probably can't be done for free.

[Edit] Also, it only takes about five or six characters to make more email addresses than people in the world. If you have to add a few characters of gibberish at the end to make one it's not a big deal, kyphysics!@#

 

[pinball1970]

I tried creating a new Gmail account. I have several that have become de facto defunct (lost passwords with no way to recover). . .

I've noticed every combination of words/letters for my attempted new username entry had been taken. That sucks. I had to literally come up with a stupid username that doesn't even tie into my account name just to create that account.

Sooo,...given that the human population is overall expanding (despite some people dying) and presumably more and more people will have Gmail accounts over time, do you think we'll reach a "threshold" in the near future where you have to do highly contorted username creations to create an account for yourself?

Like Joe Smith's Gmail account is:
x752.gtv!-JOE@gmail.com

I've tried all the typical variations: last name.first name...first name/last initial...last initial/first name...first name/birth year...first name/zip code...I tried all kinds of bizarre combos...

etc. ..etc...etc...NONE WORKED...I got so mad, I just made up some dumb word/letter combo with zero resemblance to my account name to get past that stage of account creation.

Anyone have any creative ideas for how to create a viable username for Gmail that isn't take already?

Use one of your regular ones just backwards. You will remember it easy enough just a pain to spell out if it's long. Just write it out backwards in your note book at the back on the hard page.
Other than rotate two letters in a key word or date.
I am Pinball1970, the 1970 is a cool year hence why I used it but for most they tend to be DOB. Change to 1790 and you will have a winner because no one was born that year.
Other than that insert an exclamation mark in your regular somewhere or sub for L or I. Sub 0 for o is another.

 

[kyphysics]

You should probably fix your issue with password management or that will keep happening. I don't think it's ever happened to me.

It's been a while since I got my Gmail account, but doesn't Gmail make suggestions when it says the one you want is taken?

Otherwise, a personal domain name would help, but probably can't be done for free.

[Edit] Also, it only takes about five or six characters to make more email addresses than people in the world. If you have to add a few characters of gibberish at the end to make one it's not a big deal, kyphysics!@#

I probably have like 15 email addresses across 5 platforms or something...I use different passwords for each ON TOP OF different passwords for many, many, many other accounts. ...I'm sometimes surprised I remember anything!

 

[BWV]

was on the original gmail invite-only back in the early 00s, and my Gmail account is my initials/last name so should be able to flex on that.

If you add your SS number after your full name, that should work for a unique email address

 

[pinball1970]

I probably have like 15 email addresses across 5 platforms or something...I use different passwords for each ON TOP OF different passwords for many, many, many other accounts. ...I'm sometimes surprised I remember anything!

I have to write everything down!

 

[Baluncore]

If you have two given names and a family name, take the first two letters of each to make a 6 letter username. It is surprising how well it works.

 

[jedishrfu]

was on the original gmail invite-only back in the early 00s, and my Gmail account is my initials/last name so should be able to flex on that.

If you add your SS number after your full name, that should work for a unique email address

Don't use your SS number that way, you'd be helping identity thieves.

 

[BWV]

Don't use your SS number that way, you'd be helping identity thieves.

hopefully the joke was obvious there

 

[DaveC426913]

Anyone have any creative ideas for how to create a viable username for Gmail that isn't take already?

Sure. Add a number that you can remember and is large enough that no one else is likely ever to take.

It's worked for me for 30 years. See username.

 

[Vanadium 50]

Don't use your SS number that way, you'd be helping identity thieves.

Naw...just use someone else's SSN.

 

[DaveC426913]

If you have two given names and a family name, take the first two letters of each to make a 6 letter username. It is surprising how well it works.

DaFrCo...

 

[Vanadium 50]

I fail to see why this is a problem. We used to use 7 or 10 digit numbers as a "phone address", and that worked. We had a thing called a "directory" which mapped "Jenny" to "867-5309" and "Wilson and Tina" to "634-5789".

Today Thunderbird maps "Mom" to blahblahblah@some.random.isp

 

[russ_watters]

I probably have like 15 email addresses across 5 platforms or something...

Why? I have two personal emails; normal and spam. I don't think I've had a total of more than 5.

I use different passwords for each ON TOP OF different passwords for many, many, many other accounts. ...I'm sometimes surprised I remember anything!

So, again: password management. You're not supposed to remember them all.

Also: recovery contact info.

 

[pinball1970]

DaFrCo...

Three elements there. You could do one of those breaking bad things?
Edit. No. That's negative not Nitrous oxide, Da didn't make the cut, Technetium (edit two. Looked it up still spelt it wrong)

 

[Vanadium 50]

Three elements there.

What's Da?

 

[pinball1970]

What's Da?

It was a contender for element 43 apparently.
Danubium according to my sources. (Google)

 

[DaveC426913]

Why? I have two personal emails; normal and spam. I don't think I've had a total of more than 5.

4 here. Private, business (semi-public), public (AKA spam) and gmail (because so many places accept Google now).

So, again: password management. You're not supposed to remember them all.

Not for me. Never trust a computer to do something that you can do yourself.

IMH(and naive)O, anyone using password management is just asking to lose the keys to the kingdom.

 

[BWV]

Another option would be to change your legal name to something like FeB*6QMR1C, you then should have no problem setting up a gmail account with it

 

[Vanadium 50]

Is the 6 silent?

 

[anorlunda]

Use a two-word phrase, each word from a different language.

 

[jtbell]

a personal domain name would help, but probably can't be done for free.

According to namecheap.com (my domain registrar), kyphysics.com is available from them for $8.98/yr.

This would let you start with a blank slate as far as the username is concerned. Choose whatever you want! Or make your domain something other than kyphysics.com, and use 'kyphysics' as your user name.

All sorts of other domain extensions are available: kyphysics.net, kyphysics.org, kyphysics.lol, ...

When I got my personal domain in anticipation of retiring some years ago, Google didn't let you use custom domains with the free version of Gmail, so I signed up for what is now Google Workspace (formerly G Suite, and before that Google Apps). I have the Business Starter edition at $6/mo.

It's apparently now possible to use a custom domain with a free Gmail account by using "email forwarding".

https://support.google.com/domains/answer/9437157?hl=en&ref_topic=6293345

However, Google warns that mail sent this way is more likely to be flagged as spam. When I set up my Google Workspace account, I spent some time learning how to set the appropriate DNS records in my domain registrar's (Namecheap's) control panel, and in my Google Workspace settings, so as to authenticate my email properly.

 

[russ_watters]

Another option would be to change your legal name to something like FeB*6QMR1C, you then should have no problem setting up a gmail account with it

Sadly, XAEA-XII is already taken.

 

[russ_watters]

4 here. Private, business (semi-public), public (AKA spam) and gmail (because so many places accept Google now).

Well, I didn't really specify, but right now I have 3 active; in addition to my two personals, I have my work email. I may also have a defunct work email still forwarding. I also had an older personal email that is now defunct and two school accounts that are probably defunct. So 7 ever.

Not for me. Never trust a computer to do something that you can do yourself.

IMH(and naive)O, anyone using password management is just asking to lose the keys to the kingdom.

When I said "management" I didn't mean "manager". Opinions vary, but in addition to a password manager you could use a text file on your computer or a piece of paper in real life. Regardless of what method you pick, it will be better than forgetting and losing an important account (several times!).

 

[DaveC426913]

When I said "management" I didn't mean "manager". Opinions vary, but in addition to a password manager you could use a text file on your computer or a piece of paper in real life. Regardless of what method you pick, it will be better than forgetting and losing an important account (several times!).

Yeah. Both of which can be lost, along with your entire digital world, in one swell foop.

 

[BWV]

The key thing is to assume your SS and older, less secure name / password combinations are all up on the dark web for sale. Don’t use the same password across multiple sites and freeze your credit. I use a password manager to do this, makes it easier to periodically change passwords on sites where security matters

 

[russ_watters]

Yeah. Both of which can be lost, along with your entire digital world, in one swell foop.

Separate umbrella advice: back-up your world (digital or otherwise) so you can't lose it all in one swell foop or even a fell swoop.

 

[Rive]

Anyone have any creative ideas for how to create a viable username for Gmail that isn't take already?

Use the PW generator of Firefox.
By the way I think something like that will be the future for email addresses. I mean, a random pile of characters without meaning, so non-vulnerable for spambots fishing for valid addresses.
And there will be one very private master address which helps to translate between persons and their address book: maybe even generating new address for new contacts automatically on the fly.

 

[russ_watters]

Yeah. Both of which can be lost, along with your entire digital world, in one swell foop.

Most online accounts have recovery capability, so that's another thing about kyphysics's problem I don't understand. I have actually forgotten passwords (or didn't have access to them so I reset the password anyway), but it's never caused me to lose an account. It's really the second part that has me confused.

 

[DaveC426913]

Use the PW generator of Firefox.
By the way I think something like that will be the future for email addresses. I mean, a random pile of characters without meaning, so non-vulnerable for spambots fishing for valid addresses.

Doesn't this kind of solution only work on one computer at a time? And only until you clear your cache?

 

[anorlunda]

Doesn't this kind of solution only work on one computer at a time? And only until you clear your cache?

No. I don't understand why you say that.

Here's a PW my pw generator created: nnfwjwm. I'm free to use it as I see fit without future help from the pw generator. All I have to do is memorize it, or write it down.

A longer more difficult pw could be: 7cUq6&1*H^ncr@B*ZRKoRy0Qj@O19vkvoSmrkmwp*5VSvv0jnEM&atGeDn3cqtV#
That's different, because I could never reliably type that by hand. In that case, I become
dependent on my pw manager to fill in the password when I need it.

IMO, the primary value of a pw manager is not to create passwords, but to synchronize my account info across all my devices. That way I can use long pws, and I can easily change them every 30 days for much improved security. But the price of that is dependency on my pw manager vendor.

 

[DaveC426913]

No. I don't understand why you say that.

Here's a PW my pw generator created: nnfwjwm. I'm free to use it as I see fit without future help from the pw generator. All I have to do is memorize it, or write it down.

I thought the WHOLE POINT of password management was that you DIDN'T have to memorize passwords. Do you memorize a hundred of those? What you describe is the worst of all possible worlds.

 

[anorlunda]

Do you memorize a hundred of those?

No. I go the other way, with 64 character difficult passwords that nobody could reliably type by hand. Then I never memorize, and never type in a pw by hand.

 

[DaveC426913]

No. I go the other way, with 64 character difficult passwords that nobody could reliably type by hand. Then I never memorize, and never type in a pw by hand.

Right. So where do you keep them? How secure are they? What if you lose/crash that instance? Can you use them on other devices, such as, say, an office computer?

 

[anorlunda]

Right. So where do you keep them? How secure are they? What if you lose/crash that instance? Can you use them on other devices, such as, say, an office computer?

• They are kept on the LastPass service's computers. LastPass synchronizes all of my devices.
• LastPass' security is much better than mine.
• I have a master password. There is a recovery procedure if I loose that. I put a lot of thought into choosing my master password. That's easier to do once, than do for each web site's login. I do change the master password, but not frequently.
• I also use LastPass to store non-computer info such as bank account numbers, and passwords for non-Internet computers. I can call up that information on screen, then punch it in as I look at the phone's screen.
• If I die, the executor of my estate has has my master password so that he can get access to all of my assets. Since I change passwords often, the password manager is the simplest way to keep my executor up to date.
• The probability of someone guessing my password is perhaps 1%, but the probability of me dying is 100%. I need to balance the chance of my assets being stolen, with the chance of my assets being lost after death because they can't be found or can't be accessed.
• I believe it more likely that my password is stolen by a breach of the web site's database, than that my password is guessed. That is why I change passwords often. I believe that frequent changes give more security than difficult passwords. For a few sites, LastPass partially automates the task of changing passwords.

The usual objection people have to password managers is that you must trust someone. I trust a bank to store my money. I trust the password manager to store my security info. I drive a Mazda, and I trust Mazda not to give my key code away. If I trust no-one at all, then I need to bury my assets (including the Mazda) in the ground somewhere and risk forgetting where.

LastPass is not the only competent source of password management. I'm not promoting their service.

 

[kyphysics]

Why? I have two personal emails; normal and spam. I don't think I've had a total of more than 5.

So, again: password management. You're not supposed to remember them all.

Also: recovery contact info.

I don't like writing passwords down. Always scared someone will find them. ...It's an irrational fear.

So accounts are just ones I temporarily forgot password too and then randomly remembered...but, admittedly, I do have too many for no good reason.

 

[kyphysics]

Most online accounts have recovery capability, so that's another thing about kyphysics's problem I don't understand. I have actually forgotten passwords (or didn't have access to them so I reset the password anyway), but it's never caused me to lose an account. It's really the second part that has me confused.

I don't have phone recovery, but usually have email recover.

Problem is...I sometimes would forget several email passwords, includingn the recovery one...

 

[StevieTNZ]

I don't have phone recovery, but usually have email recover.

Problem is...I sometimes would forget several email passwords, includingn the recovery one...

You clearly need a better system in place. Have a try at Googling some solutions.

 

[kyphysics]

You clearly need a better system in place. Have a try at Googling some solutions.

I've never forgotten my absolute CORE email, b/c I use it every single day. ...I just forgot the less used ones.

 

[Vanadium 50]

hey are kept on the LastPass service's computers. LastPass synchronizes all of my devices.

Actually, LastPass doesn't know your passwords.

There is a function which takes your Master Password as input and the stored password as another input, and from that, calculates the site-specific password.

Trivial example: your site-specific password is the number 4, and your master password is 7. LastPass will store 4+7=11, and when you log in their servers and your browser together subtract 7 from 11 to get 4. If you break into LastPass' server, you only get 11.

The evil dark side of this is losing your master password is very very bad.