Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site cbosgd.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!floyd!clyde!ihnp4!cbosgd!mark
From: mark@cbosgd.UUCP (Mark Horton)
Newsgroups: net.mail
Subject: MCI MAIL
Message-ID: <453@cbosgd.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 19-Oct-83 10:21:49 EDT
Article-I.D.: cbosgd.453
Posted: Wed Oct 19 10:21:49 1983
Date-Received: Thu, 20-Oct-83 08:19:59 EDT
References: <3170@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Columbus
Lines: 62

I thought the following excerpts from fa.telecom would be of interest to this
group:

Date: 13 Oct 1983 1731-PDT
Subject: MCI Mail
From: Ian H. Merritt <MERRITT@USC-ISIB.ARPA>

I just completed the initiation dialog to the MCI mail service.  It is
an interesting dialog, in which the system asks questions such as your
social security number, and mother's maiden name, for identification, 
and allows you to specify your own unique ID code if you don't like 
the one the system generates from your name.  After this, a series of
survey questions are asked, hoping the user will provide answers.  For
each question, a simple <CR> indicates you don't wish to answer; and
one may quit the survey at any time without disturbing the service 
application previously entered.

To the best of my knowledge, there is no cost to establishing yourself
as a user; only when you actually send something.  I think you can set
up a recipient address on-line, also without charge.

I can't tell what kind of hardware the system was that did the
querying, but backspace is character delete, Ctrl/U works for delete
line, after logging in, and Ctrl/R works as a retype.  Other control
characters are taken as a delimiter, and RUB characters are ignored.
This leads me to believe that the application is running under VMS.

If anybody is interested in playing with this thing or establishing 
their own account, the number is 800-323-7751. (100-300baud/1200baud)

                                        <>IHM<>


Date: Sat 15 Oct 83 10:16:04-PDT
From: Jim Celoni S.J. <Celoni@SU-SCORE.ARPA>
Subject: MCI Mail

When I couldn't register for MCI mail on 800-323-7751 (is there a "new
user" name and password?), I called local MCI sales; they referred me
to 800-MCI-MAIL.  They didn't know anything but referred me to
800-MCI-CALL, where I found out the service offers four kinds of
messages:

Instant letter:  direct from sender's terminal to another
subscriber's; $1/"ounce" (7500 chars) to send, free to read.  (Like
ARPAgrams but more expensive)

Overnight letter:  from you to one of their laser printing centers to 
destination by noon the next day via Purolator Courier.  (System will 
tell you whether PC serves the area.)  $6.

4-hr letter:  to printer to destination within 4 hr via PC (only 15 
areas now).  $25.

Letter:  to printer to destination via U. S. mail, usually arrives 
within 24 hr.  $2.

Sender (and instant mail receiver) can use any access numbers (all in 
"welcome kit").  Bill comes each month with nonzero charges.

[The way to register is to use username REGISTER, password REGISTER.  --JSol]