[bisby]

What is the downside of someone having your email address, especially with no other context.

If they have other data on your email address, they don't need your email address to do anything with it. If they don't have other data, then there's no issue.

You're not concerned about people having public access to your twitter handle, why would you be concerned about people having public access to your email address.

[mcbits]

A list of emails + IP addresses would be valuable to web surveillance companies that already have trails of data for the IP addresses and emails separately.

[m00dy]

Well, they at least know my email address and my interest for android phones. Am I only one thinking that It is so easy to sell the whole list to a Chinese manufacturer ?

[awqrre]

They also probably have the http://news.ycombinator.com referrer, among other things.

[pbhjpbhj]

Twitter handle is public. Email addy can be private.

[bisby]

Unless you use your email for ONLY signing up for accounts online, the entire purpose of email addresses is for other people to have them.