[smcl]

I am guessing that this was relating to certain individuals having Hotmail accounts, rather than more official sounding email addresses? I won't repeat any addresses here, but it did strike me as odd too. Hell even I have a @mylastname.org email address and I'm a nobody.

[simonw]

Having an email address at your own domain is incredibly risky for most people - because it requires them to reliably renew that domain name every year for the rest of their lives.

[PuffinBlue]

FUD - No it doesn’t. Just renew it every 10 years or whatever max renewal is available. Absolutely no requirement to do it every year. You will also get multiple minders and grace periods if you forget too.

That’s not to say ‘most people’ should have their own domain, but renewal is one of the least tricky aspects of domain ownership.

[smcl]

So there is a risk to some extent - if you forget to renew and ignore any reminders you receive you'll lose your domain and access to anything attached to it. But that's like saying you shouldn't get a mortgage and buy a house, because if you stop paying your mortgage at some point and ignore your bank's increasingly anxious and strongly-worded letters then you'll lose your house.