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From: peter@taronga.hackercorp.com (peter)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Re: AT&T Mail Update: Internet Gateway Announced
Message-ID: <15681@accuvax.nwu.edu>
Date: 24 Dec 90 06:00:05 GMT
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X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 904, Message 13 of 13


In article <15656@accuvax.nwu.edu>, ehopper@attmail.com writes:

> *  Users are prohibited to use the Internet to carry traffic between
>    commercial (for profit) electronic messaging systems.

I haven't seen this one before? Is this perhaps just AT&T trying to
keep people from realizing they now have access to MCI and Compu$erve
customers ... and thus are now selling what is purely a commodity
service?  


Peter da Silva  (peter@taronga.hackercorp.com)  
                (peter@taronga.uucp.ferranti.com)


[Moderator's Note: I doubt that is their motive simply because AT&T
Mail and MCI Mail subscribers have been interconnected directly for
some time now, and MCI Mail customers have been interconnected
directly with Compuserve people for some time now. Neither MCI or AT&T
Mail need the Internet to route their inter-commercial network
traffic. And yes, I have heard it said -- but can't immediatly put my
finger on the reference -- that the Internet is not designed nor
intended to function as a switchboard for third parties not otherwise
using the net. That is, at least one end -- sender or recipient -- to
the mail is supposed to be here on the Internet to start with. It may
be stretching the rules a little to even allow routing of the form
'internet!bitnet!etc' and 'internet!fidonet!etc' but that can be done.
Both MCI and AT&T Mail reach dozens of other commercial networkd
direct, both here in the USA and many other countries.  PAT]