Because I think firstname_lastname@example.com is ugly. Specifically, the underscore as "separator".

[pne]

I wonder how many people pick out or reject possible future jobs by the likely format of the email address they will be assigned there (based on email addresses they've already seen, e.g. the HR contact person or people who've posted on mailing lists).

Comments

[ghewgill.livejournal.com]

Although I also think that underscore-as-separator is ugly, I would have to say that wouldn't have any influence on my selection of a possible future job.

I looked back through email archives and discovered that one job actually did use firstname_lastname. Ick. :)