grassroots alternative to easymail?

[tlang@freeway.apana.org.au (Tony Langdon)]

It's 24 Mar 99  02:39:11,
We'll return to ken@nhj.nlc.net.au and All's
discussion of grassroots alternative to easymail?

 ke> What if Computerbank were to implement a similar service for our
 ke> clients, i.e. an email only, time and bandwidth limited, dialin
 ke> service. The POP and SMTP servers would have to be made to limit
 ke> resources and login time. Or it could be done over UUCP as someone

Well, there are ways of limiting resources.  Firstly, suitable filtering
will stop people intent on surfing the web from getting out, or just go
the whole hog and have private IP addresses for the mail only dialins.
Then they'll only be able to access local mail and news servers.

Time limits can be imposed with siftware such as ACUA, which is designed
to manage dialin lines.

Of course, UUCP is an excellent option as well.  I'd suggest making all
options available, as POP will suit some, and UUCP will suit others
(especially non profit organizations which need multiple accounts).

 ke> suggested. This way there would be few issues with client-modem ratio
 ke> as our clients would be paying per dialin; there would be disincentive
 ke> to overuse the service. Maybe a small fee like $10 per quarter would
 ke> cover phone line rental, equipment, and other costs.

Should be able to keep costs low and user/modem ratio high fairly
easily.  Say, 15 mins max connect time (allows one to download a dozen
or so newsgroups and their mail, or read mail via a shell).  UUCP
shouldn't need time limits, since it's not an interactive medium anyway.

 ke> When they like email, they can then graduate to registering for a
 ke> regular ISP account from any of the usual suspects.

There's plenty to choose from in that market. :)

.. Dangerous Things: Lions, tigers, reptiles, and any Micro$oft .00 relea
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