Iowa State students who have become faithful e-mail users may not have to worry about losing their Project Vincent accounts after graduation.

Foxmail, “the e-mail address you keep for life,” according to its homepage, could be a solution to the problem.

Kimberlynn Locklin, founder and president of Foxmail, said the company has advantages over competitors.

“There are a lot of other businesses offering this service, but they’re not advertising-free. Flashing icons take a lot of time to download [and without ads] you don’t have to wait,” she said.

To offset the advertising-free atmosphere, Foxmail requests a $19.95 annual fee.

Its homepage tells potential customers that changing e-mail is required with every relocation, and that “Foxmail, Inc. is different because it offers permanent email addresses — and it doesn’t sell your name to pay for it.”

Foxmail’s annual subscription rates also help guarantee a permanent connection, which does not change even if the e-mail provider goes out of business.

Some people, however, maintain a bit of skepticism about Foxmail.

“I would think it’s a good idea for some people [to have a permanent address, but] you need to look at it carefully,” said George Covert, associate director of technical services at the Computation Center. “[Because] there are a lot of takeovers [and] mergers, it might not be forever.”

Covert added that privacy is an important issue when the question of ownership is presented.

E-mail can be accessed from the World-Wide Web or by using regular software, but the Web option allows use from any computer that has access to the Internet, according to Foxmail’s press release.

Subscribers also can forward their messages to three different places at the same time, enabling them to get mail from different locations.

“You can have it forwarded to your current address until you graduate, then you can tell them to stop forwarding it [until you have another address],” Locklin said.

Covert warned that users should be conscious of commercial e-mail societies.

He said if the societies go out of business, customers may lose their address. He also suggested that the user go over the terms and conditions.

But Foxmail insists its business is fair and that it recognizes user privacy.

“We at Foxmail are in the business of providing an intrusive-free e-mail environment, where our subscribers never have to wonder what is waiting for them in their inbox,” Locklin stated in a press release.

The release also says the e-mail is protected by password encryption and secure servers.

For more information or to subscribe to Foxmail, visit their Web site at www.foxmail.com, or call 1-888-FOX-WIRE.