>We've touched a sore spot, eh? Sorry, but, yes, I can provide better
>mail service for my family on my own server than my ISP can on their
>server. I can implement policies that suit us; the ISP has thousands
>of customers and has to implement policies that suit them and their
>customers. And my server can be up and accessible to my "users" even
>when the ISP's is down, or the network is down. I'll freely admit that
>I'm an exceptional user, since I do for living the same kinds of
>things ISP's do. They've had all kinds of trouble with their news
>server. I've given them advice, which they've ignored...only to see
>them implement it months later.
I have no problem with exceptional users. As a matter of fact, I would
be more than happy to have a customer call me up and offer me an extra
$10 a month for relaying services, to be governed by a contractual
agreement. My legal department would want to look it over I'm sure, but
from a tech/marketing standpoint it's fine with me.
My problem is that not a single person who feels they need this service
is willing to pay for it (or at least, has not expressed that willingness
here). As Russell said, if you want to be an exceptional user and get
exceptional services you should expect to pay some additional fees.
Since no one has offered to pay me anything more for this additional
service, I see no need for it.
shag
