[smweber]

Every so often an article like this comes up, and I think to myself, "Maybe I should export my emails from Gmail and start using a personal domain for emails" and otherwise secure my data just in case this happens to me. But what are the chances, right? And Gmail is so convenient!

I think this time I'm going to actually do something. Probably not ditch Google entirely, but ensure I'm not entirely dependent on them.

[wccrawford]

I would do the same, but the sad fact is that I'm more likely to lose all my data than Google is, even with the occasional mistake like this.

[Hisoka]

You can still use Gmail and use a personal domain for emails. Best of both worlds.

[DenisM]

Google Apps, or do you have a simpler setup?

[mcherm]

Simpler. I set up my personal email on a domain I own to forward to my gmail account. In gmail, I "claimed" my email (it sent me a message with a link which I clicked). After that, I can send from gmail and Google will sign it as coming from my personal email (on the domain I own).

[DenisM]

What do you use to forward your email from your own domain to gmail? That's what's stopping me, and that's why I went the Google Apps route.

[cookiecaper]

I do the same thing and I run a postfix server to reforward the mail to my gmail account after it hits my domain. I actually don't have any redundance or backup server-side and rely on the mail client to sync content to disk. While Google disabling my account may put me out for a short time, it will only be however long it takes to reconfigure postfix to actually store my mail (or forward somewhere else) instead of just forwarding.

[Hisoka]

Uh.. I just add an extra alias to my gmail account pointing to my personal domain and send using that email via Gmail.