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Path: utzoo!utcs!mnetor!seismo!gatech!akgua!akguc!codas!mikel
From: mikel@codas.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.mail
Subject: Re: Gateway to AT&T Mail
Message-ID: <633@codas.ATT.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 11-Jul-86 15:30:45 EDT
Article-I.D.: codas.633
Posted: Fri Jul 11 15:30:45 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 12-Jul-86 07:22:15 EDT
References: <320@proper.UUCP> <9400002@svo.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Information Systems, Altamonte Springs, FL
Lines: 48

> Well, it appears that just about every AT&T IS-owned machine is connected
> with the 'attmail' service, as are several non-AT&T machines.  You might
> do well to look for 'attmail' in the UUCP map data.
> 
> But, one might ask "what's the cost"?  Someone is footing the bill for
> attmail, and I strongly suspect it is the connecting site.  While this
> might not really be a problem for AT&T sites (they *do* pay--albeit in-house--
> for the services they use, by the way), commercial gateways to attmail
> will have to pay for services used by foreign hosts.
> 
> I suppose one might class this under the Usenet philosophy of "carrying
> one's own share of the network [financial] load."  I know I do.  But I'm
> curious if anyone has a really strong aversion to gatewaying traffic to
> attmail.  (Traffic *from* attmail is "free" to the receiving site, though.)
> 
> I suppose one must use "sophisticated" mailers such as MMDF II to inhibit
> this sort of flow.
> 
> 		Kurt F. Sauer

There is nothing stopping you from becomming a customer of AT&T Mail,
and subscribing yourself. There are local access numbers nationally,
and if you're not close to one, there are WATS (800) numbers. Why do
you want another site to pay for uploading your mail? Suppose that you
request to have something printed and sent via USNail, that will cost
the uploading host an extra $2 per message. Worse yet, if you request
to have it sent via 4 hour courier, it will cost the uploading site
$17 for that message (or whatever the cost is, but it's high).

I know someone is going to bring up the subject of other hosts paying
the phone bill when you send mail via them. In my personal opinion,
this is justified by them having the capability to do the same via your
site (ie: sharing).

If you want to look at it this way, why don't you register yourself with
AT&T Mail, pay the bills you get, and "share" your access to the service
with other sites that will let you "share".

Disclaimer: I am in no way involved with AT&T Mail, other than being
	    a user and an employee of AT&T, which may not share my
	    opinions. I _p_e_r_s_o_n_a_l_l_y don't like the idea of another
	    site charging for uucp access.
-- 
    ___
   /   \		Mikel Manitius @ AT&T-IS Altamonte Springs, FL
  | RPI |		...{seismo!akgua|ihnp4|cbosgd|mcnc}!codas!mikel
  |  .  | 
\\-------//