I check all of my email accounts on a regular basis; so it really doesn't matter which email address you use. I tend to use various Robs World! addresses for matters related to my web site (and my D&D campaign). I use the Vaessen.net and Vaessen.name addresses for family related and specific purpose correspondence. I use the mac.com/me.com/icloud.com addresses for personal correspondence and some mailing lists (as well as Apple/Mac specific purposes). Many of the email addresses (not listed here) are used on and off for specialized purposes and projects (chat channels/applications).

I have found (over the years), that relying on other companies to provide email is a crapshoot - They inevitably get sold, go away, get absorbed in mergers, or just don't provide an adequate level of service - Not to mention that some make money by reading your email (hello Google - Yes its in their terms of service. In exchange for a free email address, you agree to allow them to read your email; so they can sell your information for advertising (and who knows what else) purposes. Owning your own domain, and managing your own email services (through a hosting provider) is a far better option. You control the email addresses, you own the domain, and you reduce the number of people between you and correcting any email issues/problems. If you add in the problems with data breaches (hello Yahoo!) and unscroupulous companies that basically refuse to manage or control spam, then you've got a lot of reasons to run your own email server/services.

Facsimile:
The correct spelling for 'Fax'. I can send and receive faxes directly from my computer/multi-function printer. Thanks to my multi-function printers (an MFC-J985DW and an MFC-J995DW), I can now send and receive faxes without having to disconnect and reconnect my phone line. That was a pain in the butt; having to reconfigure the phone line (from telephone to computer and back again) in order to send or receive a fax. I even managed to send faxes using a VoIP service. Yes, it can be done. How reliable are fax transmissions? I'd say they work properly (as expected/the first time) about 20% of the time. So, they suck - If you're a bank, hospital or business that insists that your customers/clients/partners send you faxes... Please stop, I'm begging you. Life is too short to waste it on fax problems. Get an email account for the sake of your sanity! Stop requiring that people send sensitive information to a common phone number in an open office.

Chat (text/audio/video & more):
I use Apple's Messages application for most of my chat requirements. It's audio, video, chat and file transfer capable. The video conference capabilities are great. I've often used chat to communicate with my friend Rob in Japan (for free/no long-distance charges). With all the enhanced capabilities, Messages is way better than the telephone. Messages uses Apple's end-to-end encrypted network infrastructure for secure messaging as well as Jabber for chat connectivity. As of OS 10.7 (Lion) all the separate chat accounts were merged into a single interface. Later versions of Messages dropped support for other protocols (such as AIM, GoogleTalk, Yahoo!, MSN, Facebook (aka Messenger)) primarily because those other protocols became closed/proprietary, and they cut off their API/connectivity.

You can contact me via Messages with my icloud.com/me.com/mac.com address , my mobile number (no I'm not going to publish it here), or one of my Jabber addresses. Another great reason to use Messages - If you're invested in the Apple eco-sphere, you'll find that the application is available on all of Apple's platforms, and the 'chat' sessions span all those devices. Conversation threads begun on one device can be resumeed or carried over to any other iCloud enabled device. The integration is outstanding; allowing you to stay connected no matter where you are.

Unfortunately, all the early open connectivity (and multiple cross-compatible chat clients) fostered by the XMPP protocol has gone away - We've gone back to chat applications that are completely closed (not just Apple's iMessage protocol, but other companies have implemented their own proprietary chat protocols). Aside from the SMS and MMS standards, the open protocols such as XMPP and the drive to created interconnected communities is abandoned/gone. The commercialization of the internet has destroyed 'Openness' - It's all about closed systems and walled gardens now. Corporations are entirely unwilling to share their code, or allow other corporations or services to connect with their systems. Doing so might allow competitors an advantage or allow users to easily move away from your platform.

Newsletter:
I used to send out an electronic newsletter once a month (That schedule has slipped. I'm now trying to get 'caught up' with blog entries from more than a year ago). Things changed, my schedule doesn't allow as much time as it once did, life goes on. The newsletter covers what's going on with Kim and I, as well as the latest happenings at Rob's World! If you'd like to receive this unscheduled/intermittent newsletter, just send an email to Additionally, if you're currently receiving the email, and you'd like it to stop, please send an email to I will honor all remove requests.
<http://robsworld.org/mailman/listinfo/rw_newsletter_robsworld.org>
<https://www.robsworld.org/newsletter.html>

Encryption:
GPGMail is an open source plugin for Apple Mail. It brings the functionality to sign, verify, encrypt and decrypt mails using the OpenPGP standard. I use MacGPG2 2.2.32 (972) and a licensed/paid support version of GPGMail plugin* 6.1 build 2028 (as part of GPG Suite 2021.3 / released Dec 14th, 2021) with Apple's Mail.app Version 15.0 (3693.20.0.1.32) / macOS Monterey update) for encryption, decryption, and message authentication. If you would like to correspond in secret, please take note of my Public Keys. *Note that there is now (as of Sep 22nd, 2018) a 'Support Plan' for the GPGTools Suite - More specifically, the developers are charging a fee for the use of GPGMail (distributed with the GPGTools suite).
<https://gpgtools.org/>

Thanks:
If you're one of the many individuals who've left comments in my (now defunct) guestbook, or sent me e-mail with your comments and suggestions, I'd like to thank you for your input. It has been most instrumental and constructive. You're input has helped me build a better web site.

Sincerely;
Robert L. Vaessen