This comment was posted to the CSI-Goa mailing list of the Computer Society of India (Goa chapter). FN
---------- Forwarded message ---------- Some issues and some suggestions: o Mailing-lists are going to be one of the biggest victims of the frequent changes in email addresses in Goa. You can imagine how many man-hours will go into changing the subscribers address. o In the case of CSI-Goa, could I request CSI to make the settings to allow non-members to post. This, combined with the usual moderation (to weed out spam, porn) will ensure that messages don't bounce just because of the mass changes in address. o I was the 2nd or 3rd subscriber of BSNL (then DoT, later GoaTelecom) for their email service. Since 1997, my address changed from [EMAIL PROTECTED] to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to [EMAIL PROTECTED] to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Prior to this, because DoT was not offering email in Goa, I had addresses on the axcess.net.in (BusinessIndia group) and ilbom.ernet.in (an alternative network). Perhaps someone from Goa could claim a mention for the most number of changed email addresses in a decade! o During the last change, I met my friends at BSNL at the Consumer Forum. After getting tired with frequent postponements (a standard trick), I realised that it was hardly making a difference to BSNL. They were paying a lawyer, from revenue earned from people like you and me, to fight my attempt at getting them to see sense. o In their written submissions, they had promised that they were making their n-1 th changeover to provide a lasting solution to users. Now, they go ahead to make their nth change. o This time round, I'll not take recourse to the Consumer Forum, to avoid wastage of energy/time/money. But if anyone is interested in taking up this issue, you can count on me sharing copies of the promises BSNL made before a quasi-judicial authority last time. o BSNL could have been more careful in (i) explaining the new features of Sancharnet -- i.e. the requirement of authorisation by the server (ii) in explaining to subscribers what the implication would be in terms of the new tariff structures (iii) giving more elaborate instructions and help on different Operating Systems to enable a smoother changeover -- when we phone up the helpdesk presumes everyone is using a pirated copy of Win98. o Finally, a call to CSI: can its members do something to make this transition a bit less painful for the sixteen thousand or so Internet users in the state with the second-highest teledensity? FN o PS: What's the logic of BSNL in stopping their agents from selling services for new Internet accounts and renewals? It used to be so easy -- and service with a smile -- when one went to get renewals done through the agents.... In the case of VSNL (now privatised, with the Tatas a major partner) one can get a new Internet account via the phone, even without paying a paisa in advance. Does BSNL really want to ensure that it gets less business? -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Frederick Noronha (FN) | http://www.fredericknoronha.net Freelance Journalist | http://www.bytesforall.org http://goalinks.pitas.com | http://joingoanet.shorturl.com http://linuxinindia.pitas.com | http://www.livejournal.com/users/goalinks ------------------------------------------------------------------------- T: 0091.832.2409490 or 2409783 M: 0 9822 122436 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
