Why I Pay for Email Now

In the early days of the internet, I was always on the hunt for free services.

Whatever was free. Sign me up.

Email was no exception. I started with Yahoo Mail in 2005, and it felt like magic to send messages instantly to anyone around the world at no cost.

Quickly I realized there were better options out there (that were still free somehow), like the promising competitor Gmail. I still remember the excitement of receiving a beta invite. It was sleek, had tons of storage, had cool new features l...