Best Webmail provider?

[DarkDubzs]

So I have had my old AOL email account for years, and while I'm totally okay with it for email, nobody uses it anymore and its awkward to give away to friends and stuff, they just see @aol.com and they cringe :lol:. I need/want to make a new email account anyways to use for job applications and other more professional things, I need a more... appropriate... email address name. This time I'm also gonna keep it all to one account while trying to minimize spam which seems to always grow.

Ive been thinking of the obvious, Gmail, but I really dont like how they scan all your email outgoing and inbound, push their spam and ads to the top of your inbox, target you with ads based on what they scan, etc. We all know about it. It would be the most convenient by far though, as I can use that one email to give casually, professionally, and also use for Google Play on my Android devices, Google Docs, Google Drive (if I ever decide to use it), Google Maps (great way to let them know where you live, work, your driving and travel plans, routines), and whatever other google programs that we all use and seem to always have surrounding us. Of course, there are other options, like Yahoo, uhhh...? apparently Microsoft Outlook.com is popular now as an email provider, and i guess Hotmail still is in existence. So my real options i can at least think of right now are those four.

Of course I would switch all the tons and endless contacts and accounts from using my AOL account to my new account... dread having to do that... financial aid sites, bank, and the tons of other things I cant even process right now because there are so many. I would also need the new email provider to be able to receive emails from the old AOL account, since AOL doesnt forward emails to other accounts anymore, I believe it it something like POP receiving.?

 

[DonQuixoteMC]

The first half of my answer will be based on usability only. The second half will be more subjective.

As far as the utility of e-mails go: my two favorites are gmail and microsoft outlook. They have far fewer ads than AOL, and just generally have a streamlined, no nonsense approach to e-mail. I would recommend either above anything else.

Now the second half of my answer isn't technical in the slightest.

Whenever I vet applications, transcripts, etc. I always subconsciously cringe at the domain @gmail.com. I have no idea why. For that reason alone, I gravitate towards using my outlook e-mail. (Well, aside from my "company" e-mail, which actually has it's own domain).

Independant domains aside, I would choose Gmail for usability and Outlook for... good impressions??

Disclaimer: take my comments on gmail with a grain of salt. I'm pretty sure it's just me that feels that way.

You can't go wrong either way!