I used to use a catch-all e-mail address on my domain as a form of spam tracker. I signed up for JobsOnline.com using jobsonline at my domain name, for Callwave.com using callwave at my domain name, etc. Originally, this was not a bad idea. Several sources refer to this as a practice that was effective in the past for making sure mis-addressed e-mails didn’t get lost, but those sources also acknowledge that it’s no longer a good idea to use a catch-all because it’ll overwhelm you with spam. I get over 1000 spam e-mails per day, to addresses like zvwrlkj at my domain, etc. That doesn’t count the spam I get in the form of bounced e-mails from people spoofing addresses at my domain. But I’ve been doing e-mail this way for years, and I was just putting up with it.

Now I’m trying to consolidate my accounts into a couple of e-mail addresses. I reviewed my “Site Registration” folder in my e-mail (I knew I kept that stuff for a reason) and I came up with a list of about 400 e-mail addresses I have registered with in the past. Now I’m visiting all of those sites and changing my e-mail address to meredith at my domain. That’s what I’ve spent a lot of today doing. I’d really like to be able to turn off the catch-all and use Dreamhost’s junk filter, so I am going to go through these 400 or so addresses, and then try turning it off and seeing what happens…