Paul Tyma January 19, 2007
Almost 3.5 years ago I started the Mailinator(tm) service. I got the bulk of the idea from my drunk roommate at the time and the first incarnation took me all of about 3 days to code up. In some senses it was a crazy idea. As far I know, it was the first site of its kind. A web-based email service that allowed any incoming email to create an inbox. No sign-up. No personal information. Send email first, check email later.
This became ridiculously handy for things like signing up for websites that send you one confirmation email, then save or sell or spam your email address forever. And of course, it *is* very handy for users. But think about it from mailinator's side. Its basically signing up to receive spam for that address forever. That's a tall order and one that seems to have the possibility of a terrible demise. Someday, enough email could come in that will simply smush Mailinator. But, as of this writing, that day isn't today.