Angel, you're friend in IT is right. It's my field as well. Web crawlers do look for the @ and .com to identify email addresses. Doesn't mean a crawler will hit this page, but it happens.

I don't do a second web based address because I can already create email addresses as needed. I don't post one because I'm already terrible about answering the few emails people may still be bothering to send me. :-[

funny but i have 2 email account thru my cable internet provider that i never even use, yet somehow spam finds a way to get into them.

sfowler - so why don't you add the email next to your name? are u afraid of us?

richardab -- no I'm not afraid of you. [I assume you are kidding me]

My email has been posted often on this forum as well being available as on the fodorite page I have been maintaining. I am more than happy to add it to a post when I think a person might want to contact me directly.

But I do follow the policy of not posting an email any more than necessary on the web. [email protected] is not my work email -- but it is my "main" secondary email.

Just as I figured, I just opened the new yahoo email([email protected]) and I am already getting spam, lots of spam. Its that con from Africa where they want to deposit money in my bank account then withdraw it and ll of my money too.

Actually yahoo has a pretty good spam filter. It's just in the last few weeks that the spammers have figured out a new wrinkle. Be sure to report the offenders as spam. And to have your options sent to route stuff to the junk folder.

A warning though -- at Yahoo the junk folder counts against your space allotment, as does trash -- this is unlike hotmail.