They just won't

I was e-mailing with a friend who expressed a desire to switch broadband suppliers. Problem is, she's been using their branded e-mail account and doesn't want the hassle of losing it and having to inform everyone of the change.

I understand, because I use my provider's account too.

Now, if corporations had a conscious, they would forward your e-mail to your new account when you switched -- for a month or so -- as a service. But they don't. They won't. Not unless forced to by the government. If I'm wrong, and you know of a corporation that does offer this service (for free, or a price), please let me know.

Over the years I've changed my primary e-mail address a number of times, but mainly because my broadband provider, initially @Home, kept changing hands, and each time it changed, I was forced to change to the new e-mail address. It was a pain, but in most cases, there was a period of time where both addresses worked, so the laggards, that took forever to update my address in their address book, had time.

Imagine what life would be like if corporations were totally free of governance?