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From: nelson%bolyard.wpd.sgi.com@sgi.com (Nelson Bolyard)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: AT&T Mail Info and Questions
Message-ID: <14874@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 20 Nov 90 19:45:38 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 838, Message 2 of 13


In Volume 10, issue 821, I asked about AT&T's ACCESS program.  Our
Moderator tacked the following onto my posting:

>[Moderator's Note: You do *not* need those programs to use ATT Mail! I
>use one of my terminals and the printer attached to it and get along
>just fine.  Some time ago, they tried to tell me I needed a PC to use
>the mail. Whether or not the program you describe, at the price
>offered is worthwhile or not is a judgment you need to make.   PAT]

In Volume 10, Issue 832 ehopper@ehpcb.wlk.com (Ed Hopper) wrote:

>Messages created with ACCESS or sent via UUCP from a UNIX box do not
>have message creation charges associated with them.  Messages entered
>online do have such charges.  Unfortunately, messages edited offline
>and sent up via XModem from Procomm, etc. also have "creation"
>charges.

So while one may not absolutely NEED their "ACCESS" program to be able
to communicate, it seems that without ACCESS (or UUCP), the costs of
sending e-mail are increased by about 50%, due to their "online
message creation" charges.  When these "creation" charges are figured
in, MCI Mail suddenly seems much more cost-effective.  By eliminating
the 40 cent creation charges, the $150 ACCESS program would pay for
itself after 375 messages.

Today, an AT&T Mail Customer Assistance Center techincal
representative dropped this bombshell on me: He is NOT PERMITTED to
tell me ANYTHING about how to use their Internet mail gateway because
it's not "official" yet.  He didn't think it was working yet.  When
confronted with the news that there are people who use it regularly to
communciate with the internet, his response was that I should reply to
a message from one of those people and ask them how they do it.
Astounding!  If you want to know how to use AT&T Mail, you're better
off asking their customers, not their Customer Assistance reps?

So with no alternative left, I ask Pat and any other AT&T Mail users in
telecom land, the following questions:

1.  How do you, as an AT&T Mail user, address mail to someone on the Internet.
    How would you address mail to me, nelson@sgi.com, for example?

2.  How do I (an Internet mail user) address mail to you, an AT&T Mail user?  
    I invite you to send me some e-mail from your AT&T Mail account.
    I should be able to figure out the reply address from the mail I receive.

Nelson Bolyard            MTS Secure IRIX              Silicon Graphics, Inc.
nelson@sgi.COM     {decwrl,sun}!sgi!whizzer!nelson     415-335-1919
Disclaimer: Views expressed herein do not represent the views of my employer.


[Moderator's Note: In answer to both your questions, I won't tell you.
I was given permission to use the gateway to ATT Mail during the beta
test stage under the condition that I not discuss it in detail in the
Digest. I am permitted to add names to the list from ATT Mail however,
and the folks who have received mail know how it is done. Furthermore,
there is a help file on ATT Mail which discusses the topic. I hope the
people who gave me permission to use it will soon okay a formal
discussion of it including examples, etc.  PAT]