Fastmail to host email for my webpage?

Greg · 1 Nov 2001, 02:01 AM

Hi!

I'm new to Fastmail and have no computer know-how at all. That`s why my questions may be very easy but I simply cannot handle the problem myself. Straightforward answers will be very welcome

I have my website on mac.com and additionally domain redirection by cjb.net. I also have a Fastmail account... Now, I want Fastmail to handle all my email for the cjb address. I dont`t mean mail forwarding but this "strange something" connected with DNS, MX etc. Both Fastmail and cjb claim it is possible and easy... well, not for me!

Can anybody explain to me what do these terms mean? And more important - I would appreciate an easy, step-by-step instruction on how to do it all.

Please, help me...
Greg

Kyle Babich · 1 Nov 2001, 04:59 AM

Do you mean you want fastmail to collect mail from your cjb.net email account?
Or do you want fastmail provide a co-branded sort of service for you cjb.net address?

Either way, if you're not sure, just email Jeremy. His address is jAThowardDOTfm.

Jeremy Howard · 1 Nov 2001, 05:31 AM

Heh. Jeremy referred Greg here! I wasn't that clear on exactly what Greg wanted, and whether it was best handled by pobox.com, zoneedit.com, or for FastMail.FM to host his MX record. I'm hoping that folks here might be able to offer advice. Also Greg, it would help if you could provide more information about exactly what outcome you are trying to achieve, so that we can all help find the best solution for you.

Greg · 1 Nov 2001, 06:09 AM

It`s really nice to see the first replies so fast! Thanks!

I will try to explain my problem better... I hope

What I don`t need is a simple mail forwarding. I want this service to work for mail connected to my web address. I know it`s possible - Yahoo! offers such email solution (you have domain, they give you mail for it), CJB allows to use it for their addresses.

And now - in the above replace Yahoo! with Fastmail and you get it.

Please, don`t tell me it`s still not clear. This would mean I`m more stupid that I have thought

Greg

***Edwin*** · 1 Nov 2001, 06:22 AM

Greg,

Do you mean that you want to be able to offer email accounts TO OTHER PEOPLE, who would come to your site to sign up for email accounts?

Or are you referring strictly to email that you would use for your own use?

I think this would shed additional light on your question...

Edwin

**Shelded** · 1 Nov 2001, 12:29 PM

Greg, you appear to need some help getting your idea across to us. I'm going to try to read between the lines and help the others here help you, so don't despair if I'm not being 'straightforward' enough, either I or one of the others will fill in when we hear from you next.

You mentioned Yahoo and said replace it with fastmail. So I'm going to take that to mean you want your own domain mail. You said you don't want mail forwarding, so I think you want a mail host (you said you want DNS and MX stuff). But Yahoo doesn't appear to offer mail hosting so I'm back to thinking you want the basics of personal domain mail.

Yahoo gives
Personal Email - $35/year
Get the email address you've always wanted!
• Send and receive mail using you@your-name.com.
• Seamlessly integrated with your Yahoo! Mail inbox.
• Includes 5 email addresses, to give to anyone you want.

Fastmail would charge you no more than $25-40 for this service but will be ad-free, give more storage, and give you IMAP (read in this forum for what that means), or there's excellent info at
http://www.fastmail.fm/docs/faqparts...ernalIMAPVsPOP

BUT this is for ONE fastmail account, not 5 as Yahoo is offering you. Hang around on this forum and we will show you how those additional 4 don't mean anything, you can replace them for free.

But as Edwin asks, if you're trying to provide a mail service to 5,000 users, uh, you need to communicate directly with Jeremy as he's working on that solution and is not yet operational for that.

Fastmail is one solution for getting your domain mail going; Jeremy mentioned the other good one, zoneedit.com can help you do the same thing. You would set your DNS to resolve on zoneedit's server, then you set your MX record -- but guess what, you will still be looking for a mail host! If you want help with that, Kyle will probably guide you. I have my favorite $5/mo unlimited mail host, but Kyle likes to recommend his and I have to be quiet about mine (can't grow too big).

Answer Edwin's question, and I also wonder what your monthly budget for this stuff might be.

Trip · 1 Nov 2001, 01:23 PM

Hmm.....I think some things still have to be cleared up here for Greg to actually understand what we (shelded and Edwin, lol) are already talking about.

I guess I will kind of serve as a dictionary on this post, explain some things and clarify others, so here goes...and other veterans, please correct me if I seem to miss the point/function of something...

Definitions:

DNS Settings: These settings control where the WEB TRAFFIC through your website is pointed. DNS settings let you edit what are reffered to as NAMESERVERS...the servers that would direct me, for example, to a certain web page after I have typed in "greg.cjb.net". There is usually a primary and a secondary nameserver for a domain name (like greg.com or greg.cjb.net) which can be changed if the provider gives you access to these settings.

MX Records: These settings control where the MAIL sent to email addresses at yoursite.com is directed. The settings in MX Records allow for a MAILSERVER name to be specified. Again, this server name tells you what computer is handling the mail sent to "greg@greg.cjb.net" and all other addresses at greg.cjb.net, or whatever domain name you have.

***
If you have control over these settings, you still need a PLACE and a SERVER that you have an account with to point both your WEB TRAFFIC (by controlling your DNS) and your MAIL TRAFFIC (by controling MX Records). Like shelded said, you could still have control over both of these attributes if you owned a domain name like "greg.com" or even "greg.cjb.net," but if you didn't have a homepage at some web address (hosted by some server) then your nameservers wouldn't be able to send people typing in "greg.cjb.net" to a real webpage! Similarly, if you didn't have a MAIL HOSTING SERVICE (like Yahoo, or FastMail.fm) to receive your mail sent to your domain, which is controlled by the mail server specified in your MX Records, you would have no place to receive and hold your email!

***

I hope this has cleared up the HOWS and WHYS of your delema, Greg.

Now if you can just decide, based on our info we gave you, EXACTLY what you want to do with your email, we can tell you what parts of these services you need to have control over and/or have signed up for.

Please feel free, anyone, to clear up any false explanatinos I may have made and/or add questions about this "STUFF." (I know, it can get pretty complex when actually having to WRITE about it, lol)

Tripper

**Shelded** · 1 Nov 2001, 01:40 PM

Thanks, Trip, all that typing, better you than me.

I won't critique for small details, the picture is good enough.

I've looked at this cjb.net and I bet that just about everything Greg needs for personal mail has already been provided there. We have to remember he said he wanted this straightforward (simple?) heheheheh.

Greg · 2 Nov 2001, 05:49 AM

Hi again,

I have read all your posts with interest. Good lesson, thanks!

Now I know that I need mail hosting for my domain. I will use it for my my personal purposes. With my know-how offering email service to anybody would be a great disaster

Shelded - you`re right, cjb.net offer email service but I need more than 1MB storage and I need IMAP. That`s why I`m here! I want to replace cjb mail service with Fastmail. This IS possible with Yahoo!, check the link: http://billing.mail.yahoo.com/yo/vor...services&.p=G1

Coming back to the original question: can I replace the cjb.net mail hosting with Fastmail the way Yahoo! offers it? If so - can you tell me how?

Greg

Jeremy Howard · 2 Nov 2001, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Greg
Coming back to the original question: can I replace the cjb.net mail hosting with Fastmail the way Yahoo! offers it? If so - can you tell me how?

OK, I've looked at exactly what cjb.net offers, and the good news is that this is easy to do. cjb.net offers 'mail forwarding' and 'mail aliases' which means that you can use the cjb.net web interface to set up a rule that forwards all of your mail to any FastMail.FM user name you like. You do not require any special FastMail.FM setup for this--just set up the cjb.net forwarding rule and it'll "just work".

This facility is basically the same thing that you get with pobox.com or zoneedit.com, except that pobox.com offers more advanced filtering features, and zoneedit.com uses your own domain rather than a subdomain of cjb.net.

Trip · 2 Nov 2001, 09:42 AM

After all that typing, and all he really needs is a forwarder! LOL!

hehehe, oh well, I am I could at least further educate some on the issue of DNS and MX stuff (even if somedetails didn't pefectlty/completely cover the whole subject...lol shelded

).

Oh well, if Jeremy described what you really need, then doing that will be MUCH easier than actually messing with these settings (at least for most newcomers).

Again, good luck Greg and thanks for the extra suggestions guys,

Tripper

**Shelded** · 2 Nov 2001, 03:28 PM

Sigh, it's not really Greg's fault. The biggies in the business such as NetSol make a lot of money off folks who buy domains, and so Greg's trying to do it cheaper and having to wade thru the competing claims for his money and attention.

But when he's done he will have a sweeter situation even than you pobox.com users, as long as he doesn't overpay (NetSol

asks $35/year) for his domain. I really like owning my domains and using free mail, it's the cheapest way around.

OtaconTV · 3 Nov 2001, 07:29 AM

Thanks trip, now I actually know what those things are.

Kyle Babich · 3 Nov 2001, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by shelded
But when he's done he will have a sweeter situation even than you pobox.com users, as long as he doesn't overpay (NetSol asks $35/year) for his domain.

Godaddy.com is, imo, the cheapest registrar with the best features.
(ie ns creation, dns info modification, multiple domains under one account, etc.)

As far as hosting a domain, that might be going off topic.

** Idea **
Edwin, if you read this, how about a forum for email/domain hosting, or something like that? A forum for hosting our domains with hosts that provide good email features like how plesk works with IMAP, and how RaQs have easy control panels for editing mail accounts, etc.

OtaconTV · 3 Nov 2001, 10:50 AM

There should be a FAQ and How-to section to this site

1 Nov 2001, 02:01 AM	#1
Greg Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 3	Fastmail to host email for my webpage? Hi! I'm new to Fastmail and have no computer know-how at all. That`s why my questions may be very easy but I simply cannot handle the problem myself. Straightforward answers will be very welcome I have my website on mac.com and additionally domain redirection by cjb.net. I also have a Fastmail account... Now, I want Fastmail to handle all my email for the cjb address. I dont`t mean mail forwarding but this "strange something" connected with DNS, MX etc. Both Fastmail and cjb claim it is possible and easy... well, not for me! Can anybody explain to me what do these terms mean? And more important - I would appreciate an easy, step-by-step instruction on how to do it all. Please, help me... Greg

1 Nov 2001, 01:23 PM	#7
Trip Master of the @ Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: USA Posts: 1,347 Representative of: Runbox.com	To Add to shelded... Hmm.....I think some things still have to be cleared up here for Greg to actually understand what we (shelded and Edwin, lol) are already talking about. I guess I will kind of serve as a dictionary on this post, explain some things and clarify others, so here goes...and other veterans, please correct me if I seem to miss the point/function of something... Definitions: DNS Settings: These settings control where the WEB TRAFFIC through your website is pointed. DNS settings let you edit what are reffered to as NAMESERVERS...the servers that would direct me, for example, to a certain web page after I have typed in "greg.cjb.net". There is usually a primary and a secondary nameserver for a domain name (like greg.com or greg.cjb.net) which can be changed if the provider gives you access to these settings. MX Records: These settings control where the MAIL sent to email addresses at yoursite.com is directed. The settings in MX Records allow for a MAILSERVER name to be specified. Again, this server name tells you what computer is handling the mail sent to "greg@greg.cjb.net" and all other addresses at greg.cjb.net, or whatever domain name you have. *** If you have control over these settings, you still need a PLACE and a SERVER that you have an account with to point both your WEB TRAFFIC (by controlling your DNS) and your MAIL TRAFFIC (by controling MX Records). Like shelded said, you could still have control over both of these attributes if you owned a domain name like "greg.com" or even "greg.cjb.net," but if you didn't have a homepage at some web address (hosted by some server) then your nameservers wouldn't be able to send people typing in "greg.cjb.net" to a real webpage! Similarly, if you didn't have a MAIL HOSTING SERVICE (like Yahoo, or FastMail.fm) to receive your mail sent to your domain, which is controlled by the mail server specified in your MX Records, you would have no place to receive and hold your email! *** I hope this has cleared up the HOWS and WHYS of your delema, Greg. Now if you can just decide, based on our info we gave you, EXACTLY what you want to do with your email, we can tell you what parts of these services you need to have control over and/or have signed up for. Please feel free, anyone, to clear up any false explanatinos I may have made and/or add questions about this "STUFF." (I know, it can get pretty complex when actually having to WRITE about it, lol) Tripper Last edited by Trip : 1 Nov 2001 at 01:26 PM.

2 Nov 2001, 09:42 AM	#11
Trip Master of the @ Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: USA Posts: 1,347 Representative of: Runbox.com	lol! After all that typing, and all he really needs is a forwarder! LOL! hehehe, oh well, I am I could at least further educate some on the issue of DNS and MX stuff (even if somedetails didn't pefectlty/completely cover the whole subject...lol shelded ). Oh well, if Jeremy described what you really need, then doing that will be MUCH easier than actually messing with these settings (at least for most newcomers). Again, good luck Greg and thanks for the extra suggestions guys, Tripper

1 Nov 2001, 04:59 AM	#2
Kyle Babich Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: NJ, USA Posts: 540	Do you mean you want fastmail to collect mail from your cjb.net email account? Or do you want fastmail provide a co-branded sort of service for you cjb.net address? Either way, if you're not sure, just email Jeremy. His address is jAThowardDOTfm.

1 Nov 2001, 05:31 AM	#3
Jeremy Howard Ultimate Contributor Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Australia Posts: 11,501	Heh. Jeremy referred Greg here! I wasn't that clear on exactly what Greg wanted, and whether it was best handled by pobox.com, zoneedit.com, or for FastMail.FM to host his MX record. I'm hoping that folks here might be able to offer advice. Also Greg, it would help if you could provide more information about exactly what outcome you are trying to achieve, so that we can all help find the best solution for you.

1 Nov 2001, 06:09 AM	#4
Greg Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 3	It`s really nice to see the first replies so fast! Thanks! I will try to explain my problem better... I hope What I don`t need is a simple mail forwarding. I want this service to work for mail connected to my web address. I know it`s possible - Yahoo! offers such email solution (you have domain, they give you mail for it), CJB allows to use it for their addresses. And now - in the above replace Yahoo! with Fastmail and you get it. Please, don`t tell me it`s still not clear. This would mean I`m more stupid that I have thought Greg

1 Nov 2001, 06:22 AM	#5
*Edwin* Administrator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: UK Posts: 3,118	Greg, Do you mean that you want to be able to offer email accounts TO OTHER PEOPLE, who would come to your site to sign up for email accounts? Or are you referring strictly to email that you would use for your own use? I think this would shed additional light on your question... Edwin

1 Nov 2001, 12:29 PM	#6
Shelded Moderator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: USA Northwest Posts: 3,849	Greg, you appear to need some help getting your idea across to us. I'm going to try to read between the lines and help the others here help you, so don't despair if I'm not being 'straightforward' enough, either I or one of the others will fill in when we hear from you next. You mentioned Yahoo and said replace it with fastmail. So I'm going to take that to mean you want your own domain mail. You said you don't want mail forwarding, so I think you want a mail host (you said you want DNS and MX stuff). But Yahoo doesn't appear to offer mail hosting so I'm back to thinking you want the basics of personal domain mail. Yahoo gives Personal Email - $35/year Get the email address you've always wanted! • Send and receive mail using you@your-name.com. • Seamlessly integrated with your Yahoo! Mail inbox. • Includes 5 email addresses, to give to anyone you want. Fastmail would charge you no more than $25-40 for this service but will be ad-free, give more storage, and give you IMAP (read in this forum for what that means), or there's excellent info at http://www.fastmail.fm/docs/faqparts...ernalIMAPVsPOP BUT this is for ONE fastmail account, not 5 as Yahoo is offering you. Hang around on this forum and we will show you how those additional 4 don't mean anything, you can replace them for free. But as Edwin asks, if you're trying to provide a mail service to 5,000 users, uh, you need to communicate directly with Jeremy as he's working on that solution and is not yet operational for that. Fastmail is one solution for getting your domain mail going; Jeremy mentioned the other good one, zoneedit.com can help you do the same thing. You would set your DNS to resolve on zoneedit's server, then you set your MX record -- but guess what, you will still be looking for a mail host! If you want help with that, Kyle will probably guide you. I have my favorite $5/mo unlimited mail host, but Kyle likes to recommend his and I have to be quiet about mine (can't grow too big). Answer Edwin's question, and I also wonder what your monthly budget for this stuff might be.

1 Nov 2001, 01:40 PM	#8
Shelded Moderator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: USA Northwest Posts: 3,849	Thanks, Trip, all that typing, better you than me. I won't critique for small details, the picture is good enough. I've looked at this cjb.net and I bet that just about everything Greg needs for personal mail has already been provided there. We have to remember he said he wanted this straightforward (simple?) heheheheh.

2 Nov 2001, 05:49 AM	#9
Greg Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Posts: 3	Hi again, I have read all your posts with interest. Good lesson, thanks! Now I know that I need mail hosting for my domain. I will use it for my my personal purposes. With my know-how offering email service to anybody would be a great disaster Shelded - you`re right, cjb.net offer email service but I need more than 1MB storage and I need IMAP. That`s why I`m here! I want to replace cjb mail service with Fastmail. This IS possible with Yahoo!, check the link: http://billing.mail.yahoo.com/yo/vor...services&.p=G1 Coming back to the original question: can I replace the cjb.net mail hosting with Fastmail the way Yahoo! offers it? If so - can you tell me how? Greg

2 Nov 2001, 03:28 PM	#12
Shelded Moderator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: USA Northwest Posts: 3,849	Sigh, it's not really Greg's fault. The biggies in the business such as NetSol make a lot of money off folks who buy domains, and so Greg's trying to do it cheaper and having to wade thru the competing claims for his money and attention. But when he's done he will have a sweeter situation even than you pobox.com users, as long as he doesn't overpay (NetSol asks $35/year) for his domain. I really like owning my domains and using free mail, it's the cheapest way around.

3 Nov 2001, 07:29 AM	#13
OtaconTV Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Posts: 66	Thanks trip, now I actually know what those things are.

3 Nov 2001, 10:50 AM	#15
OtaconTV Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Posts: 66	There should be a FAQ and How-to section to this site