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Could You Do It? Couples Share 1 E-mail Account

chicagotribune.com — Often, spouses have separate work accounts where bad behavior could go undetected. However, the goal isn't policing each other every minute, they say. Instead, they are doing whatever is possible to avoid keeping secrets.

Who dugg this? Made popular Sep 7, 2009

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  • diggpoop, on 09/07/2009, -0/+165Hell no I couldn't do this. I don't want my wife to see one dime of the $400k this Nigerian prince is sending me.
  • undervalued, on 09/06/2009, -5/+120My parents share an account, which is why my father got a second one...
  • mareksoon, on 09/06/2009, -3/+105While we didn't share an account, all passwords were frequently shared. No secrets.

    Protip: When she changes her e mail password without telling you, somethings amiss. In my case, her cowoker.
  • Klowner, on 09/07/2009, -0/+86Your protip saddens me :-(
  • sjbdallas, on 09/06/2009, -1/+63Do you gather around the same computer?
  • Amadeus2490, on 09/07/2009, -0/+62"Dude, click on that one!"

    "But I want to watch this one."

    "But her ***** are ugly; I HATE tan lines!"

    "Dude! Tanlines are hot."

    "Okay, FINE! Click on that one. . .eugh, he's wearing a condom."

    "So? I don't mind condoms. You feel less with them on, but i'm not wearing one while i'm fapping. His loss, not mine."

    "But it ju - ... Wait. We're arguing while we're holding our dicks."

    ::they never speak to each other again::
  • twiztidsinz, on 09/07/2009, -1/+56Save the money you'd spend on a new computer and get therapy for your multiple personalities.
  • priegog, on 09/06/2009, -2/+53There undoubtedly are some people who can do this.
    My parents, for instance are one of these people. they don't have a single email account, but that's just because they use one for the business and another one for the family and stuff, but they both know eachother's passwords, and they both use both. They do share a facebook account for instance.
    But my parents are the kind of people most people wouldn't understand. They spend EVERY single minute of the day together (except for bathroom and stuff), hey work together on the same family-owned business, have the same friends, and actually, only have one car.
    I don't know if I'd be able (or want to) to live a life like that, mainly because what I'll work on I won't be able to share with my partner, but it does makes one wonder... And I KNOW firsthand that my parents are genuinely and completely happy, so...

    inb4 your parents are actually divorced and haven't told you yet
  • RenderedLife, on 09/07/2009, -7/+55I don't share my account with my spouse.

    - Actually, he does, he just doesn't know that I know all his passwords.
  • RenderedLife, on 09/07/2009, -5/+49What??? Screw you babe! That's it, i'm buying you your own damn computer!
  • Rain12913, on 09/07/2009, -0/+39"My parents, for instance are one of these people"

    I'm not sure if that was intentional or not but it certainly seems quite fitting.
  • SkylaRiot, on 09/06/2009, -11/+50nope. couldn't do this *****. these are the same people who have to have a picture of themselves and their significant other in their avatars. or even creepier - joint answering machine greetings.
  • elenaadamscom, on 09/07/2009, -1/+36Agreed. We know most of each others passwords, mostly for convenience if one of us ever needs to get into an account or laptop to retrieve information for the other.
    If you're married and need to conceal the contents of your email account, you're doing it wrong.
  • inactive, on 09/07/2009, -1/+36My parents share an email address. I've recently moved back in with them (after completing my economics degree, which gives me a false sense of ego while debating economics online but no employment) and they're basically inseparable, so it makes sense.

    I could do it if I were in a serious relationship, although being on Digg, I doubt I'll have to worry about that.
  • ngregge, on 09/06/2009, -3/+37Your parents are actually div... Dammit!
  • j0phus, on 09/06/2009, -5/+37I could share a porn account with my buddy... Does that count?
  • robanders8, on 09/07/2009, -0/+25that metaphor left a bad taste in my mouth.
  • ultar6, on 09/07/2009, -2/+25Why share something like this?

    Should you take a video camera with you when you go out with the guys...so your wife can watch every minute of what happens when she can't see you?

    Why the hell would you want your spouse to know about every single thing you do throughout every single day? Is there something horribly wrong about having a small part of your life that is just yours? Is it wrong to expect that your spouse need not know about every single facet of your life?

    AFAIC, any spouse who wants that level of insight wants it because they have a need for control. I've seen it with friends who gave up access to their personal email addresses, but didn't get carte blanche to rifle through the wifey's emails with her sister and mother.
  • kcumming, on 09/07/2009, -0/+21If you have to share an email address to keep yourself honest, you've got a problem. It's like the person who sets his alarm clock half an hour earlier than he needs to get up because he knows he's going to sleep in.

    That being said, I share an address with my wife, because it makes sense. There's a lot of correspondence that comes to us as a couple, as opposed to as individuals. We both have our own individual addresses, but we share an email address like we share a bank account.
  • Alienrace, on 09/07/2009, -0/+17Of course! You never had a dodgy site ask you for your email? Just type in the spam addy and you're set.
    I thought everybody does it.
  • douggmc, on 09/07/2009, -0/+17 ... daaaa, daaa, da, da,dant aaa .. believe it or not George isn't at home ... where could I beeeeee .... believe or not I'm not hoooome.
  • Grazzit, on 09/07/2009, -0/+17feel ya man, same thing happened to me except i opened up google docs and saw that she and the guy had made a ***** spreadsheet detailing the pros and cons... talk about ***** soul crushing...
  • EnTaroTassadar, on 09/07/2009, -5/+21Bitches don't know bout my password.
  • HurricaneDC, on 09/07/2009, -0/+15Let me buy you a virtual beer.
  • hshadow914, on 09/06/2009, -4/+19I couldn't, I have 4 email addresses alone... work/friends(aim)/spam/school

    My parents share an email address, but they're old.
  • indyGuy, on 09/07/2009, -1/+15My wife and I have shared an account for 12 years. We do both have separate work accounts, and eventually we both got separate personal accounts.

    But the single account is handy for joint accounts, kids activities, emails to/from extended family, etc.

    Shrug.
  • zeth006, on 09/07/2009, -0/+13Hey whatever makes you happy, right? If it works out this way, it'll ensure there's near-full transparency and no need for distrust.
  • brianhatch, on 09/07/2009, -2/+13no matter what the couple says, this was the woman's idea.
  • inactive, on 09/07/2009, -0/+11Technical problem i see though is important emails one person was expecting but the other one did not care about might get marked as read and then missed.

    Oh and the "buying ***** on the internet" when you could be buying her diamonds might be a problem as well :)

    Otherwise i dont think it would matter much as long as the "significant other" did not think they had won the Nigerian lottery 18 times a day.
  • bicyclethief, on 09/07/2009, -0/+9Or they could just talk to each other...
  • Moralogic, on 09/07/2009, -0/+9Within the first 5 lines there, it sounded like a conversation of my girlfriend and I looking at porn or entensity.net
  • elenaadamscom, on 09/07/2009, -4/+13I doubt a) the majority of joint email addresses are owned by Christian couples, and b) they do it to help with the openness of their lives and to avoid temptation.
    I'm sure for a lot of people this is a throwback to days when you had a family letterhead or note card and all correspondence came from Mr and Mrs. Add in the fact that a lot of families started out with one home computer and were set up with an AOL email address for the family, and it's not hard to believe that pattern gets established. I know my mother wouldn't have a clue how to set up an email address and has always just used the one that comes with her internet provider.
    As for those couples that do this willingly, I don't get it at all. My husband and I are a team and would never question each others loyalty or fall prey to "the temptations" presented by the internet, but reading emails would feel like a major violation of privacy. That and we get so many each that it would be a huge pain in the neck to shuffle through them and avoid losing/missing any.
  • EnTaroTassadar, on 09/07/2009, -0/+8No, you just need to utilize Gmail filters/labels better. :P
  • crackshot91, on 09/07/2009, -0/+8Dugg for honesty.
  • Orchid64, on 09/07/2009, -0/+8There's a difference between reporting every little thing and hiding something. Sharing e-mail means that you aren't hiding anything, not that you are tracking each other's every move.

    Having separate e-mail accounts is like having separate postal mail boxes. When you have the same post box, you don't read all of the (snail) mail the other person gets even though you take it from the same box. You give them their stuff and you take yours. Things that are addressed to both of you, you both get to see.

    The point is about transparency, not about snooping, spying, or tracking. That being said, if you need a combined account to keep you honest, then your relationship is already a failure.
  • maggl, on 09/07/2009, -0/+8It's sex, isn't it?
  • banthis, on 09/07/2009, -0/+7Wife , i suppose.
  • marinist, on 09/07/2009, -0/+7FTA: "He and his wife Lori, like other Christian couples around the country, share one e-mail account as a safeguard against the ever-expanding temptations of the Internet."

    One email account...yeah, I'm sure that will stop an affair. Then again, if you all chant in unison "cyber chastity belt! cyber chastity belt!" those frustrated spouses will forget they hate you? Oh, I bet.
  • hazard99, on 09/07/2009, -0/+7That's nice dear.
  • orangebear, on 09/07/2009, -0/+6I don't see how this solves anything if it's for trust issues. Obviously if you're having extramarital activities with the secretary you're not going to give her your shared email address... it's not exactly difficult to maintain a "secret" email account.
  • BTConan, on 09/07/2009, -0/+6probably needs some numbers in there, so sex69 or maybe sex247
  • charlietuna, on 09/07/2009, -2/+8I was thinking pretty much that.

    "It's not a matter of distrust"
    oh yes it is.. yes it is.
  • EnTaroTassadar, on 09/07/2009, -0/+6From my experience, Gmail goes down just as frequently as Yahoo or Hotmail.

    We just hear about Gmail's downtimes more often because... Well, they're ***** Google.
  • beloitpiper, on 09/07/2009, -0/+6What keeps him from opening another email account without telling her? This system to "keep it honest" is pretty flawed.
  • chix0r, on 09/07/2009, -2/+7This seems silly to me. Isn't the whole point of a good solid relationship to have enough trust so you don't need to share every little detail of your online presence such as who you chat to, what websites you visit, and what is in your inbox?
  • alsundma, on 09/07/2009, -1/+6If email addresses didn't cost so much I'd have 3 or 4.
  • TheBlargh, on 09/07/2009, -0/+5*coughpornsitescough*
  • freakFlag, on 09/07/2009, -0/+5Genius!
  • TheFuzzyOne, on 09/07/2009, -0/+5You know, it's depressing that you can't tell the difference between a feature of your browser and the web site you happen to be on.
  • steviesteveo, on 09/07/2009, -0/+4People have a family letterhead on their correspondance? What days were these? How many acres did you family own?
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