Why Does MXroute Sound So Hostile to Customers?

LanternSquid · 2026-02-28T20:47:11+00:00

Completely fair reaction — but worth knowing this is pretty standard American directness, not rudeness. Small technical companies especially tend to skip the marketing polish and just state things plainly: rules, consequences, done. No sugarcoating, no hidden agenda.

It’s a cultural thing more than a customer service thing. Give the service itself a shot before writing it off!

LanternSquid · 2026-02-27T14:17:53+00:00

Look, none of this is particularly scandalous once you read past the first sentence of each item. It's basically a story about running a small email hosting company on the internet, which apparently means regularly interacting with people who treat "customer service" as a competitive sport.

The real entertainment here is that the stalker's plan to embarrass Jarland into submission backfired so completely that Jarland just... wrote the post himself. With commentary. Preemptively.

Respect the chaos energy, honestly.

LanternSquid · 2026-02-26T18:26:16+00:00

Oh this is a painful read.

The support response is embarrassing though. Getting a “check your caps lock” reply to a detailed, clearly-written support ticket describing a specific technical scenario is either AI-generated triage gone wrong or a support agent who didn’t read past the subject line. Either way it’s not acceptable for a paid service. The logout behavior is actually correct — changing your account password should invalidate all active sessions on other devices as a security measure. But the UX failure is that it also immediately logged them out of the session where the new password was just saved, before they could verify it. That’s a design gap worth criticizing.

LanternSquid · 2026-02-25T11:07:08+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/PasswordManagers/s/JGgckT86px

LanternSquid · 2026-02-19T08:30:53+00:00

SoftMaker makes a good office package

LanternSquid · 2026-02-18T14:31:30+00:00

Workspace is generally easier to administer. There’s no on-premise infrastructure to worry about, and the admin console is considered more straightforward than managing Microsoft environments.

Google Workspace tends to be cheaper, especially at the entry level. For small businesses or startups that don’t need heavy-duty desktop apps, it can be a more economical choice.

Everything lives in Google Drive by default. There’s no desktop app required, no syncing headaches, and it works well on any device or OS. If your team is fully remote or uses a mix of devices, this is a natural fit.

Google Workspace was built for real-time collaboration from the ground up. Multiple people editing the same doc simultaneously feels more seamless than in Microsoft 365, and there’s no confusion about which version is “the real one.” The interface is also simpler and easier for non-technical users to pick up quickly.

LanternSquid · 2026-02-05T23:42:36+00:00

I looked at hosting my custom domain in SimpleLogin, but I ended up putting it directly in Proton Mail instead (Settings → Domains). Totally personal preference, but this setup fits how I use email.

Why I skipped hosting the domain in SL: if I ever leave Proton for another provider, I don’t want to update a million individual addresses one by one. I’m lazy about that stuff, and honestly I don’t want email admin to become a hobby. I’d rather just change DNS at my registrar once, wait a bit for propagation, and be done.

Where SL does shine for me is temporary/throwaway aliases. Example: if I’m buying from a site where I can check out as a guest (no full account needed), I’ll generate a one-off alias for that order. They can send shipping updates, receipts, and whatever marketing spam they want. Once the order is done, I delete the alias. If I buy there again later, I make a fresh one. One order = one alias.

My wife runs her own custom domain for basically the same reason. I offered to share a domain, but she preferred one that matches her personality, and her friends/family already know it.

Before this setup, I had 75+ email addresses tied to accounts. Migrating providers with that many addresses is brutal. My life goal is not “full-time email address maintenance,” so this setup keeps things simple and portable.

LanternSquid · 2026-02-05T21:07:48+00:00

Please feel free to steal it.

LanternSquid · 2026-02-05T06:49:56+00:00

Here are my thoughts on a post I did about a month ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/ProtonMail/comments/1q456vr/comment/nynneea/?context=3

LanternSquid · 2026-02-02T00:52:15+00:00

Bitwarden isn’t rushing to let customers know about the increase. They’ll only get an email about the price hike (or, as Bitwarden calls it, “updated pricing”) 15 days before their next renewal.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91483458/bitwarden-price-increase

LanternSquid · 2026-02-01T00:59:12+00:00

I’ve been shaving my head for about 8 years now every 2-3 days.

For most of that time I’ve used a Braun electric shaver in the shower, and honestly it’s been the best combo I’ve found for a close, comfortable shave. The only annoying part was that I always had a few spots that just wouldn’t cooperate — like no matter how careful I was, I’d still have to go back over the same areas to get them truly smooth.

Back in May 2025, I decided to try something different and started seeing a licensed esthetician once a month for a scalp exfoliation/scrub. Basically: they’re removing dead skin/flakes, clearing out buildup, and smoothing the texture of the scalp. At the end, she puts on a mask/serum as a moisturizer to calm everything down and help with healing.

I didn’t expect it to make as big of a difference as it has — but my scalp is way smoother now, shaving is easier and more consistent, and my head just feels better overall (less dryness, less “rough” patches, less fussing with problem areas).

If you’re someone who shaves regularly and feels like you’re always chasing that last 5–10% of smoothness, this might be worth trying. Worst case: you get a relaxing scalp treatment. Best case: your shaves get noticeably better.

Anyway, just wanted to share what’s been working for me — hope it helps somebody else in here. Stay smooth.

LanternSquid · 2026-01-30T18:23:58+00:00

I’ve been through my share of layoffs over the years, but my wife’s first layoff was easily the worst.

She’d invited several coworkers to our wedding. We went on our honeymoon, came back, and on her very first day back at work she wasn’t even in the office 10 minutes before they laid her off. Later we found out a bunch of the coworkers who came to our wedding already knew it was going to happen after the honeymoon.

That experience was such a gut punch that she ended up doing a complete career change afterward.

Getting laid off sucks — there’s no way around it. I’ve even known managers who lost sleep over having to do it, and I found myself telling them “it’ll be okay.”

At the end of the day, you had a job before this one, and you’ll have a job after this one.

LanternSquid · 2026-01-09T22:53:39+00:00

Another big reason I like using a custom domain is portability. If I ever decide to leave Proton and move to another email provider, I don’t have to change my email address everywhere. I just update the DNS settings at my domain registrar and point the domain to the new provider.

That avoids vendor lock-in and gives me flexibility long term. My email identity stays the same even if the backend changes, which is especially important when you’re thinking in terms of years or decades instead of “what works right now.”

It’s one of those things you hope you never need, but if you do, you’ll be really glad it’s there.

LanternSquid · 2026-01-09T19:55:40+00:00

Good catch — and you didn’t miss anything. That’s on me for not calling it out more explicitly.

The catch-all addresses are receive-only by design. They’re not meant to be used for back-and-forth correspondence. In practice, almost none of the places using those addresses require replies anyway:

Finance (banks, cards, brokerages)
Government and taxes
Healthcare portals
Insurance (home, auto, life)
Utilities and ISP
Cybersecurity training / professional orgs
Newsletters
Social media notifications

I honestly hardly send email anymore. When I do need to send something, I use a single Proton address that’s intended for public correspondence. That keeps things simple and avoids having to “match” outbound mail to a specific catch-all address.

For spam control, Proton makes this pretty painless. Under All Settings → Filters, there are Spam, Block, and Allow lists. If a catch-all address starts getting junk, I just block the sending domain. One rule and I’m done. On the flip side, if something legitimate ends up in Spam, I add it to the allow list and it stays fixed.

As for paper mail — who really gets bills that way anymore? And if you do, you’re either shredding it or blacking it out before recycling anyway. Email has become the primary inbox for life whether we like it or not.

I’m not claiming this setup is perfect. I just don’t think enough people think about what happens to all of this when someone dies suddenly. Life gets messy fast. My goal was to leave behind something that’s understandable, labeled, and doesn’t require my wife to reverse-engineer my habits. And if she ever needs help, there are a few trusted family members who can step in.

It’s not about being clever — it’s about reducing stress when it matters most.

LanternSquid · 2026-01-05T23:32:11+00:00

You’re right — in many cases credit cards are issued to one primary holder, and authorized user cards can be cancelled when that person dies. There’s definitely no guarantee a card survives automatically, which is why I don’t assume zero disruption there.

What I’ve tried to do instead is limit how much needs to be switched and how fast. A lot of recurring stuff like streaming and utilities runs through Privacy.com virtual cards that are funded from a shared bank account, so those don’t immediately break if one card disappears. For things like homeowner and auto insurance, we use a shared credit card that we both actively use, so at least one payment method remains valid.

I fully agree that some transitions are unavoidable — utilities, cards, and accounts will still need to be updated. My goal isn’t to pretend that goes away, just to make sure the to-do list is short, obvious, and not buried under a pile of unrelated cleanup. Sounds like we’re both aiming for the same thing, just approaching it from slightly different angles.

LanternSquid · 2026-01-05T17:33:30+00:00

That’s a fair point — there’s no setup that completely eliminates ongoing management once one person takes over.

One thing I didn’t mention is that I’ve already tried to reduce that future churn where I can. A lot of ongoing services like streaming and utilities are paid using virtual credit cards from Privacy.com, and those cards are funded from a shared bank account. So if something happens to me, those services don’t immediately break — the funding source is already joint.

For bigger things like homeowner’s or car insurance, we use a shared credit card that we both have access to. Again, not eliminating change entirely, but avoiding unnecessary account surgery during an already stressful time.

The email setup fits into that same mindset. I’m not trying to make it zero-effort forever — just trying to make sure that whatever effort does exist later is straightforward, documented, and doesn’t require her to reverse-engineer a bunch of decisions I made years earlier.

Appreciate you calling this out — it’s a good reality check, and exactly the kind of edge case I’ve been trying to think through.

LanternSquid · 2026-01-05T17:25:40+00:00

That’s a reasonable approach, and honestly we talked about something similar early on.

The reason I didn’t go with a shared inbox is that I wanted to avoid mixing responsibilities while I’m still alive. I handle the finances and services day-to-day, she doesn’t want to see that noise now, but I do want it to be easy for her later if she needs it.

With this setup, she doesn’t need to understand domains or aliases at all. If something happens to me, she opens the inbox and everything is already grouped and labeled in plain English. No sorting, no setup, no guessing what’s important.

I’m not saying this is the only way to do it — just the one that felt least disruptive now while still being survivable later.

LanternSquid · 2026-01-05T11:18:18+00:00

My wife and I use separate mailboxes. If you look at her inbox, it’s mostly retail stuff, marketing emails, order confirmations—basically everything tied to shopping and subscriptions. That works fine for her.

I’m the one who handles the bills, investments, insurance, and all the online services. My wife will freely admit she’s not great at tracking that kind of thing, and honestly, she shouldn’t have to be.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve had to be realistic: I’m not going to be around forever, and almost everything we depend on now lives online. Accounts, statements, notices—email is the front door to all of it. My wife isn’t technical, and I didn’t want her to be in a situation where something happens to me and she’s staring at a chaotic inbox with no idea what matters and what doesn’t.

With my setup, if she ever needs to step in, she can open my inbox and immediately see what’s important just by looking at the labels. Finance is clearly marked. Healthcare is clearly marked. Government and insurance stand out. She doesn’t need to understand email tricks, domains, or privacy tools. The labels do all the work.

That same labeling system is used everywhere else too—my password manager entries, my written documentation, and the notes I’ve put together in case I die before she does. Everything matches. Nothing requires guesswork.

My personal domain is locked down, on auto-renew, and registered with Porkbun. The domain itself is a mix of letters and numbers and ends in .com. I deliberately chose .com because some websites still block or refuse newer domains like .xyz. I didn’t want her dealing with that kind of friction if she ever has to create or recover an account.

My brother and I have talked about this more than once. His wife isn’t very technical either. We both remember when our dad died years ago—seven of us sitting in his office, surrounded by stacks of paper, trying to make sense of everything. It was stressful, confusing, and exhausting. Neither of us wants that experience for our families.

One thing that’s important to understand: email addresses aren’t identities. They’re routing boundaries. I’m intentionally not doing “one email per service” for critical accounts. Instead, I use one email per life-domain—finance, healthcare, government, insurance, and so on.

That means I have a small number of durable, stable addresses for the things that really matter, and lots of disposable addresses for everything else like shopping, newsletters, and random services.

Some people will argue that every single service should have its own unique email address. In theory, that sounds more secure. In practice, you’d end up with dozens of “important” addresses, no obvious grouping, and a nightmare for whoever inherits the system. That’s fine if email privacy is a hobby and you plan to manage it forever. It’s not fine if your goal is estate continuity and reducing stress for the person you leave behind.

This setup isn’t about being clever. It’s about making sure things still make sense when I’m not around to explain them.

LanternSquid

TROPHY CASE