I started to write a couple of other options to allow for account security without having to end up with ugly addresses, but then I realized there is already the capability of doing exactly what you want to do.
It's called "prefix" and it's an SG feature in the advanced mode.
Watchwords are required to be PART of the address-word, and they will always be part of that word. Prefixes are different, in that they are ONLY required to ESTABLISH a new address. Once established, you don't need the prefix to send to an existing address.
Here's how this solves your problem. Set up a prefix, consider it to be a second SG password, something that you will never tell to anyone else. In James Bond fashion, I made mine "prefix".
Now, whenever you want to create a new email address, instead of the suggestion below of sending a starter message from the account's own forwarding address (which requires new programming from SG) all you do is send an address from ANYWHERE to the address:
PREFIX.DESIREDWORD.NUMBER.USERNAME@SPAMGOURMET.COM
SG receives the message, establishes the new address, and you then give just:
DESIREDWORD.NUMBER.USERNAME@SPAMGOURMET.COM
or even
DESIREDWORD.USERNAME@SPAMGOURMET.COM
to your new correspondent. Because they are now writing to an existing email SG address, they don't need the prefix. And since there is no way a Spammer would ever have access to your prefix word, there is no way for them to establish new addresses. If your prefix word ever leaked out (unlikely, but maybe sending from an unsafe internet cafe PC) you just change the prefix word. Again, changing the prefix has no effect on existing SG addresses.
I'm actually quite excited about this feature, and had forgotten about it for a long time . . . thanks for the discussion that brought it back to mind!
--Jason
P.S. One thing to keep in mind -- I usually just use
word.username@xoxy.net for my addresses, I like the way they look better than the number format. That won't work with the FIRST email to an address, since:
PREFIX.DESIREDWORD.USERNAME@SPAMGOURMET.COM
will be interpreted as
PrefixString = none
Word = PREFIX
Number = 4 (Desired starts with D, the 4th alpha character)
Username = USERNAME
And since you've enabled prefixes, it will eat the mail (unless the word PREFIX happens to be an existing SG address already) but it will not set up a new address with that format. Once you've established it, though, you can go back to
WORD.USERNAME@xoxy.net to give to your webform/correspondent/contest etc.
P.P.S. In case you're interested, here are the other suggestions I was working on before remembering prefixes . . .
1. Since the proposed "starter email" would require access to a computer anyhow, you could briefly disable the watchword any time you wanted to start a new address. Log in to SG, turn off the watchword, send your starter email (from ANY email account) to establish the address as an SG address, then turn watchword back on.
2. If youw ant to have addresses available "on the fly" you could create several in advance, maybe jot them in your Palm (or whatever) and then keep watchword enabled.
3. Pick just a letter or two for your watchword, like x or y or q, such that most spammers won't happen to send to a word that works, but you'll still have lots of aesthetically pleasing options to choose from. This is the most "spontaneous" solution, not requiring timely access to a PC.