Setting up a Family- (or Household-) email address

[M4cruiser]

This must be possible, but I don't know how to do it:-

We just want an email address for all of us, like "[e-mail]", but with a different password each.

We already each have a personal email, for friends, etc, but the idea with this new one is so that household communications don't get stuck in a personal email bottleneck, or accidentally ignored, or not replied to because that family member hasn't logged on for a while.

It's (obviously) for things that aren't personal, like household utilities, car taxing/insuring, stuff like that.

Any ideas please? Someone must have done it already!

[thebraketester]

Why do you need separate passwords?

[LordGrover]

Get own domain and have [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail] all directed to a central/shared mailbox?

[Mammasaid]

1. Buy your own domain e.g. bloggs.co.uk or even bloggs.family from a host (we used Names.co.uk others are available)
2. Set up individual emails, you'll most likely get 5 email addresses free as long as you own the domain, e.g. [e-mail], [e-mail], etc.
3. get on with life

Edited by Mammasaid on Tuesday 28th June 14:34

[paulrockliffe]

If you have office 365 family, you can setup groups that have their own email address

[M4cruiser]

thebraketester said:

Why do you need separate passwords?

I thought someone might ask that.
The answer should be obvious,

[M4cruiser]

Mammasaid said:

# Buy your own domain e.g. bloggs.co.uk or even bloggs.family from a host (we used Names.co.uk others are available)

1. Set up individual emails, you'll most likely get 5 email addresses free as long as you own the domain, e.g. [e-mail], [e-mail], etc.
2. get on with life

Edited by Mammasaid on Tuesday 28th June 14:34

Not sure that does it, but maybe I'm not understanding it yet ....
Which address gets the household items, and could we all see them?

[M4cruiser]

LordGrover said:

Get own domain and have [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail] all directed to a central/shared mailbox?

How does that work? A central/shared mailbox, but we each have our own email address? So where do the central ones go?

Maybe it's the answer but I can't see it yet.

[Buffalo]

M4cruiser said:

thebraketester said:

Why do you need separate passwords?

I thought someone might ask that.
The answer should be obvious,

Not really, if you kept all your files in a cupboard, you wouldn't have 5 different keys to unlock the same door lock. You would give each person the a copy of the same key, ergo, why can't each member have the same password to your one shared email account? It's a reasonable question.

However, the way we have done it, is to set up a "home" sharepoint account that houses all files necessary to run home, has a calendar, etc. Persons who need to have access from their own individual MS365 email accounts/addresses within the domain. Would that be an option your case?

[thebraketester]

M4cruiser said:

thebraketester said:

Why do you need separate passwords?

I thought someone might ask that.
The answer should be obvious,

No not really. :-)

[Alorotom]

M4cruiser said:

thebraketester said:

Why do you need separate passwords?

I thought someone might ask that.
The answer should be obvious,

I’m sorry but you’re going to need to explain this as having different passwords for a single central mailbox won’t work at all (how could it) - why on earth would x5 be needed as all the content in the central box will be identical irrespective of who’s looking at it.

[chrisch77]

LordGrover said:

Get own domain and have [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail], [e-mail] all directed to a central/shared mailbox?

Or a different option is buy a domain address with email forwarding and setup one common email address (e.g. family@) that is then forwarded to each family member’s personal email address. My wife and I have exactly this arrangement for handling school correspondence etc.

[snuffy]

Alorotom said:

M4cruiser said:

thebraketester said:

Why do you need separate passwords?

I thought someone might ask that.
The answer should be obvious,

I’m sorry but you’re going to need to explain this as having different passwords for a single central mailbox won’t work at all (how could it) - why on earth would x5 be needed as all the content in the central box will be identical irrespective of who’s looking at it.

And me.

[ClaphamGT3]

We have a "[e-mail]" domain and a family sharepoint site

[GuyW]

Overkill perhaps, but given the 'requirement' of separate logins and all...

Custom domain, pay for an Office 365 subscription. Everyone will then have their individual email/login.
Create a shared mailbox for the intended 'household' address. Add all the individuals to said shared mailbox.

The shared mailbox can then be seen separately by everyone.

• edit*

Or spin up a Teams site.

[ArsE82]

GuyW said:

Overkill perhaps, but given the 'requirement' of separate logins and all...

Custom domain, pay for an Office 365 subscription. Everyone will then have their individual email/login.
Create a shared mailbox for the intended 'household' address. Add all the individuals to said shared mailbox.

The shared mailbox can then be seen separately by everyone.

• edit*

Or spin up a Teams site.

This - if you really want separate 'authentication' to the shared mailbox. However, you'll all have to be using Outlook to see the shared mailbox unless you want to use a browser and https://outlook.office.com to open the shared mailbox separately.

As others have said, it'd be more cost-effective to buy a domain and have individual named accounts each, and a separate household mailbox that you share a password for.

[Zetec-S]

M4cruiser said:

We already each have a personal email, for friends, etc, but the idea with this new one is so that household communications don't get stuck in a personal email bottleneck, or accidentally ignored, or not replied to because that family member hasn't logged on for a while.

It's (obviously) for things that aren't personal, like household utilities, car taxing/insuring, stuff like that.

The trouble with that is you end up with everyone assuming someone else has dealt with it, and so no one actually deals with it. Seen it enough times with group/shared email inboxes at work.

[paulrockliffe]

Zetec-S said:

M4cruiser said:

We already each have a personal email, for friends, etc, but the idea with this new one is so that household communications don't get stuck in a personal email bottleneck, or accidentally ignored, or not replied to because that family member hasn't logged on for a while.

It's (obviously) for things that aren't personal, like household utilities, car taxing/insuring, stuff like that.

The trouble with that is you end up with everyone assuming someone else has dealt with it, and so no one actually deals with it. Seen it enough times with group/shared email inboxes at work.

There are ways around this though. Create a custom Search folder that pulls through unread or flagged email. If you read an email and it needs action, action it or flag it.

You can also spin the email into ToDo, add a deadline, allocate it to a person or a group, which is helpful.

[Zetec-S]

paulrockliffe said:

Zetec-S said:

M4cruiser said:

We already each have a personal email, for friends, etc, but the idea with this new one is so that household communications don't get stuck in a personal email bottleneck, or accidentally ignored, or not replied to because that family member hasn't logged on for a while.

It's (obviously) for things that aren't personal, like household utilities, car taxing/insuring, stuff like that.

The trouble with that is you end up with everyone assuming someone else has dealt with it, and so no one actually deals with it. Seen it enough times with group/shared email inboxes at work.

There are ways around this though. Create a custom Search folder that pulls through unread or flagged email. If you read an email and it needs action, action it or flag it.

You can also spin the email into ToDo, add a deadline, allocate it to a person or a group, which is helpful.

Ah, someone who knows how to use email tools, unlike some of the muppets I've worked with over the years who just read it then ignore

[M4cruiser]

Alorotom said:

M4cruiser said:

thebraketester said:

Why do you need separate passwords?

I thought someone might ask that.
The answer should be obvious,

I’m sorry but you’re going to need to explain this as having different passwords for a single central mailbox won’t work at all (how could it) - why on earth would x5 be needed as all the content in the central box will be identical irrespective of who’s looking at it.

... (1) So that any member of the group can change their password if they need to, without locking everyone else out.
... (2) So that each member of the group can set up two-factor authentication using their own device (mobile phone).

I'd think of it as a large box with a number of small lockable doors. Post comes in to the box, anyone can deal with it.

I take the point of "how do you know if it's been dealt with", there would obviously need to be a system of replies and moving it out of the Inbox to the Dealt-With box, I don't think that's a problem.