What I would actually want is to be able to put something like

  ruby -r base64 -e 'puts Base64.decode64("emhhbGJyZWNodEBnbWFpbC5jb20=")'

into the email field. Doesn't take probably for length or validation reasons :) Anyone who can't figure that out, I don't think I want emailing me through HN.

If I may speak for him, ezl does this on his profile:

  you can email me @: "@".join(['quotesentinel.com', my_hn_username,][::-1])

(http://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=ezl)

The email field isn't public anyways.

Ah, I should've been clearer: I meant putting your email in the "about" field for others to see.

There's a more subtle point not listed here: I want to control who gets my e-mail. So I'd rather stay anonymous to those who are anonymous to me, and know who has my e-mail.

I removed my email and personal information for a while due to my actions on HN. I engaged in a strange exchange on HN which got me thinking that it was an odd conversation after some research on the person in question I found that they where a convicted pedophile and had been expelled from Egypt due to links to a terrorist organization. I believe that they are still being sought in the states. Anyway, I felt that it may be prudent to remove my info for some time least I get a bunch of harassing communications due to my finding out their dirty little secret, but I felt compelled to inform others who they where dealing with.

It's embarrassing. My email is still buzz_lightyear97@lycos.net

Should probably have an option on there for people to respond that they have their email listed, if only to see what proportions of people who read this thread have email listed vs. not.

I don't have my email listed, but I have my website listed: http://inklesspen.com/

It's a simple "personal portal", I guess you'd call it. My email address is the first thing listed, followed by my erratically updated programming blog, github, twitter, flickr, linkedin, and resume.

I'd rather keep all those links in one place and just hand out my domain link, rather than have to update things everywhere when I add a new link.

Sadly, it's because I presumed the email field was public. I didn't realize that I had to explicitly add it to the About section to make it visible.

I don't think I've ever gotten any spam from HN. Have gotten a few nice emails that started an interesting conversation, though.

Argh, I already voted, and now I see the email field isn't public. So there's my reason. It is in my profile; you just can't see it. I do include other methods of contact that are more immediate, though. If someone was interested enough in contacting me, I'm easy to find.

Granted it's probably the most convoluted way possible to give an email address, but it's there.

That's 100% better than all the captchas in the world.

My email is a University address, so it has my full name and the name of my institution - that's more info than I want to give out arbitrarily.

Maybe HN could add a contact form to user profiles, to facilitate correspondence without sacrificing anonymity?

I made the mistake of using a university email address for some non-university stuff, they deleted my account when I left and I didn't get a chance to backup.

My point is don't use an email address, that you know is going to disappear in the future, as your main/general address. And if you use a University or company address make sure to find out the email address policy for people that leave the organization.

I can't think of any reason why someone would want to contact me. It would be like trying to shake hands with someone who didn't even notice you. I'd just feel embarrassed :)

I usually list a URL to a page with a contact form instead of my email in profiles.

since I use gmail I really don't care and don't hide or obfuscate my email. I often type it 'at' but it's just a habit.