home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- Xref: sparky comp.mail.misc:4529 news.newusers.questions:6065 alt.internet.access.wanted:1376
- Path: sparky!uunet!nwnexus!ole!quick!sumax.seattleu.edu!news.u.washington.edu!news.uoregon.edu!cs.uoregon.edu!sgiblab!darwin.sura.net!newsserver.jvnc.net!netnews.upenn.edu!news.cc.swarthmore.edu!kohn
- From: kohn@cs.swarthmore.edu (Daniel Kohn)
- Newsgroups: comp.mail.misc,_swat.comp.unix,news.newusers.questions,alt.internet.access.wanted
- Subject: Q: Commercial usage of Internet with mail-daemons
- Summary: Does anyone use mail-daemons for private, commercial enterprises?
- Keywords: Internet,Usenet,commercial,private,mail,daemon
- Message-ID: <6QDXBS62@cc.swarthmore.edu>
- Date: 27 Jan 93 16:56:44 GMT
- Sender: news@cc.swarthmore.edu (USENET News System)
- Organization: Swarthmore College
- Lines: 39
- Nntp-Posting-Host: cilantro.cs.swarthmore.edu
-
-
- I have been using Usenet and the Internet for about three years now,
- and have recently come up with an idea for a commercial service to be
- available to Internet users. In general terms, it would be a mail-daemon that
- would provide a service to users who would include their MasterCard or
- Visa number in the e-mail letter. I have several questions about access,
- costs, legality, and general netiquette which I hope you can help me answer.
- I would greatly appreciate your assistance.
-
- First of all, how big is the Internet? How do you know? In general
- terms, how many people use e-mail on the Internet and systems connected to it
- (e.g., Compuserve, Bitnet, AppleLink, etc.)?
-
- What is the procedure to establish a commercial node on the Internet?
- What firms would you recommend? What costs should I expect to pay? Are there
- different prices depending on throughput? Are there any restrictions on
- commercial users of the Internet (e.g., restricted access, no junk e-mail,
- etc.)? Are there other firms using e-mail for commercial activities
- (e.g., mail-order,technical support, etc.)?
-
- Lastly, how would you recommend that I advertise? Word of mouth will,
- of course, be a major factor. But can I purchase the Compuserve mailing list?
- Would it violate the law or general netiquette to post advertising on Usenet?
- If not, what group(s) would be appropriate.
-
- It is probably clear from the number of questions above that I do not
- yet have the expertise to start up a mail-daemon service. I am, in fact,
- planning on bringing in a couple UNIX hackers before I go much further, but
- this information will be very helpful to me in planning my strategy and costs.
-
- Thank you in advance for taking the time to reply. Cheers.
-
- Follow-up to: Please reply by e-mail and I will post a summary of the
- replies.
- --
- _______________________________________________________________________________
- Daniel M. Kohn "studying" abroad at the International Students House
- Swarthmore College London School of Economics 10 York Terrace East, Rm. 71
- kohn@cs.swarthmore.edu until March 19, 1993 London England NW1 4PT
-