On Thu, 21 Mar 2002, at 10:32am, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > I received this in my inbox this morning from Yahoo! > Oh well, guess I'll have to find a different service :(
Remember, one of the most fundamental rules in the universe is: TANSTAAFL (There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch) Everything has a cost. That includes operating a web-based email system. It is not "free"; Yahoo is paying for it. If Yahoo is a smart company, they will find a way to cover that cost. (If they don't, they go under.) The most common way to cover the cost of providing a service is to charge someone for it. There are other ways, of course, such as selling advertising, or selling personal information. One has to look at the reason *why* they provide the so-called "free" web-based email at all. It isn't because they are a bunch of nice guys. It isn't even because of the banner ads they plaster all over the screen while people read their email. No, the reason Yahoo provides "free" web-based email is to get people to visit their web site on a regular basis. That is their business plan -- regular, repeat visitors, who will buy web-based services from them. So by giving people a way to *not* visit their web site, they are flushing money down the drain. They might have a questionable business plan, but they aren't stupid. Any occurrence of the word "free" should always be cause for suspicion. Everything has a cost. A business, by definition, is out to make a profit. Giving something away for "free" runs counter to that goal. They must have some plan to cover the cost of their "free" product or service, and it usually involves you giving them money at some point. This is why most so-called "free" Internet sites are doomed to failure. They depend on advertising revenue. Random, only vaguely targeted advertising does not bring in enough customers to justify the prices most Internet sites need to charge to cover their operating costs. My advise to anyone depending on a "free" service: Find a way to pay for it instead, because one way or the other, in the end, you will pay. -- Ben Scott <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> | The opinions expressed in this message are those of the author and do not | | necessarily represent the views or policy of any other person, entity or | | organization. All information is provided without warranty of any kind. | ***************************************************************** To unsubscribe from this list, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the text 'unsubscribe gnhlug' in the message body. *****************************************************************
