Your New E-mail Address on Facebook: You@Facebook.com

In an apparent attempt to spur greater use of its messaging service, Facebook has changed the default e-mail accounts of all its users to facebook.com email addresses, NPR and Forbes reported Monday.

Facebook launched its e-mail-compatible messaging service, which assigned all account holders new Facebook e-mail addresses, in November 2010. Though expected in some corners to establish Facebook as a major player in the free email market — employees reportedly referred to the new messaging system as "the GMail killer" when it was launched — the Wall Street Journal notes that providers such as Google, Yahoo and Microsoft continue to dominate the space.

What happens when an external e-mail comes to your Facebook.com account?

E-mails sent to your facebook.com address will be routed to your Facebook "Messages" box. If the sender's e-mail address is associated with the account of one of your Facebook friends — or one of their friends — the message will appear in your inbox and you'll get the typical "talk bubble" notification at the top of the Facebook page.

If, however, Facebook can't match the sender's e-mail address up with someone within two degrees of separation, it gets routed to a more obscure mailbox, "Other Messages," that many Facebook users are not even aware exists. Messages dropped in "Other Messages" do not generate a notification on Facebook. Some of these messages could be spam, but many could be from people whom Facebook doesn't realize are your legitimate contacts.

If you want to give facebook.com e-mail a try, here's Facebook's own summary of how it works and how it looks and behaves differently from the e-mail you're probably used to. This November 2010 LifeHacker article explains why that might not be a good decision for you.

LifeHacker also offers instructions here on how to change your profile's default email back to what it was before.

What do you think about Facebook changing the e-mail address that displays on your profile? Do you plan to switch back to the e-mail address you entered upon registering for the site? Tell us in comments.

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