This tutorial explains to you how to have a free email account on the internet. Your email address will look like yourname@disroot.org and people will send you emails using it. This tutorial covers the step by step registration process, how to access your inbox, how to send your first email, and how to integrate your computer with it using a program called email client, all with pictures. This includes the reason why Disroot is chosen here. Now let's go and happy emailing!
Why Disroot
- Free account.
- Easy registration.
- No phone number, no recaptcha required.
- It is not from GAFAM, it is from Free Software Society.
- It uses and supports Free Software especially for users.
- Gives us email client feature (IMAP) for free accounts.
- It promises privacy and security.
- Famous among privacy community as Gmail alternative.
You can help donate to Disroot here including hardware donations.
Requirements
- A computer, you can borrow your friend's if you don't have one.
- A web browser program, like Firefox.
- An existing email account, if you don't have one you can borrow your friend's.
- Internet access, of course.
- Patience, as it needs 1-2 days for approval.
Email Account Registration
To send emails, first you must have an email account. To have one, you must sign up to an email service provider like Disroot. So here for the first time we register for an email account to Disroot email provider.
- Open web browser.
- Go to disroot.org.
- Click Sign Up.
- Fill up all input boxes there.
- Write down everything on paper so you will not forget.
- Click register.
- Wait up to 48 hours for your registration*.
- Check your existing email for approval notification.
*) For example, mine got approved at the same day.
1. Access Email Inbox
First time after having an email account, see your inbox. To see your electronic mails, you access inbox. To see inbox, you go to login page.
- Open web browser.
- Go to disroot.org.
- Click login under Email section.
- Enter your username then your password of Disroot.
- You logged in.
- Here's your email inbox in Disroot.
2. Send Email
To send an email, you first access inbox, and then write a new email.
- Login to your inbox.
- Click New.
- In To box, enter recipient's email address. For example, you can mail me malsasa [at] disroot [dot] org.
- In Subject box, enter a title of this email. For example, you can title it "Hello, Malsasa!".
- Write your email message as you wish. It's better to follow netiquette.
- Click Send.
3. Receive an Email
Once you receive an email, you can read it on the inbox. To receive an email, there is must be somebody to send you one. You can ask your family/friend for example those who have Gmail or Hotmail accounts to do it. Here's an example of an email sent from one email address to my Disroot email address.
4. Join and Create Email Groups
This is all about mailing list. A mailing list is an email group, that is, a special email address that enables many people send and receive emails together. An excellent email group example is Ubuntu Devel Mailing List located at ubuntu-devel@ubuntu.com. Everyone joined this mailing list can see all messages in Ubuntu Operating System rapid development by people who develop it from all around the world and also reply to them. Please remember, some lists may be either moderated or unmoderated. Aside from joining existing email groups, you can also create a new one, for instance, to discuss something with your team. This section discuss how to join existing one and how to create a new one.
(This is a mailing list named ubuntu-devel --where Ubuntu GNU/Linux development discussed everyday-- viewed via web browser)
Join a mailing list:
- Find a mailing list. For example, ubuntu-devel Mailing List.
- Want to see the messages inside? Every mailing list usually has public archive web page, for example ubuntu-devel archive, so everyone can read discussions by members in it.
- Send subscription email to the subscribe address*. For example, send a blank email with Subject 'help' to ubuntu-devel-request@ubuntu.com.
- Wait a while for verification and later for your approval.
- Once subscribed, you will receive emails from everyone in the list and can reply too.
- To leave a list, send unsubscribe email to the unsubscribe address*.
*) Either sub or unsubscribe, alternatively, you can also do that via web page of the mailing list.
(This is my mailing list created at Groups.io generous service containing discussions among my students about computing and Free Software)
Create an email group:
- Find a mailing list service. I recommend Groups.io which gives you free mailing lists full featured.
- Register to that service. For Groups.io service, go to Sign Up page.
- Follow further instructions until you got a new mailing list.
- Start inviting your people to subscribe. For example, I have a mailing list for my computer course by address teknoplasma-milis@groups.io.
- Once people joined, you can start discussions in that mailing list with your people.
Enjoy email group!
5. Connect Your Computer
To
have notifications every time you receive emails, and to make it easier
to access inbox and reply to your friends, you can connect your
computer to your email inbox. This way, you can work with emails without
web browser. You use email client program to do this. In your
email service, Disroot here, this is enabled by technologies named IMAP
and POP3 you may choose. Regarding email client programs: on Ubuntu it
is Thunderbird, on Windows it is Outlook, and on MacOS it is Mail. Regarding the techs: IMAP is like Telegram, you just browse the inbox in multiple devices and can also read offline messages (recommended!); where POP is downloading all messages to your single device while deleting all messages in the server. Follow instructions below.
(Thunderbird mail client on computer is successfully connected to inbox)
According to Disroot Email Documentation, we configure:
- Open email client Thunderbird.
- Add a new email account.
- Set the Email address your Disroot email.
- Set the IMAP address disroot.org; and SSL port 993.
- Set the SMTP address disroot.org; and STARTTLS port 587.
- Done.
- Congratulations, enjoy your inbox on your computer!
To this point, you are already ready for everything with your new email. Enjoy it!
Tips and Tricks
KeePassXC - use this useful password manager, as mentioned multiple times here, it helps you save login passwords easily safely for you. By saving your username, password, and emergency question of Disroot email account, once you forgot any, that's okay as you could peek at the password manager.
