I don't really understand all of the technical aspects of this fee and closing down the current setup but since it is so technical it leads me to a question. Volunteers have set up the current system and have used commercial, PROFIT- MAKING companies to carry our messages. Now those PROFIT-MAKING companies are threatening our system. My question is this: How hard would it be for Rootsweb or volunteers to start our own competitive PROFIT-MAKING organization, to carry own messages and bypass those companies like AOL and Yahoo who don't want our business? Possibly even provide a nationwide, inexpensive, high-speed, CHEAP internet access for ALL genealogists. We would need people with the incentive of an interest in Genealogy, some computer expertise, some business expertise, legal and accounting expertise, possibly some money (sell stock) and some time. That sounds like retirement areas for seniors. Surely there is some area of the country ( Boston, Miami New York, Atlanta Tampa, etc) where a group could organize, (with Rootsweb and other free genealogy organizations joined together to control policy) , incorporate, sell stock, buy equipment, sell phone modem access then high speed access, the make a profit. Genealogists all over the country could get high speed access at half the current price, set their own rules that won't curtail genealogy research and co-operation. With all the groups Rootsweb has set up, maybe a group could be set up to study the possibility of setting up such a corporation, selling stock, competing with AOL (just for genealogists (or maybe also AARP if the join in the effort). Just a thought but it did bring up the question. All my future responses will be with the Rootsweb main controlling site. I will not contine this thread here in case it is not appropriate. Mike ----- Original Message ----- From: "David C Abernathy" <DaveA@schmeckabernathy.com> To: <Scotch-Irish-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, February 03, 2006 11:31 AM Subject: [Sc-Ir] FW: The AOL - Good Mail TAX !!! > The following was passed on to me from a couple different lists that I am > on. If this happens, I can see all of the good work that the likes of > Rootsweb.com going away. > Thanks for listening to my 2 bits worth. > > Thanks, > David C Abernathy > Email disclaimers > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > This message represents the official view of the voices in my head. > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > http://www.SchmeckAbernathy.com > == All outgoing and incoming mail is scanned by F-Prot Antivirus == > > > > L-Soft has joined the growing number of companies that protest against > AOL's recent announcement that it will phase out its Enhanced Whitelist > service in June in favour of Goodmail CertifiedEmail, which carries an as > yet unspecified per-message fee. In a nutshell, companies like L-Soft get > on > the AOL whitelist by following good e-mail practices, such as cleaning up > dead addresses, making it easy for people to leave mailing lists, and of > course not sending any spam. This is all going to be thrown out the > window and replaced with the payment of hard currency to Goodmail. People > who can afford to pay this fee will have the privilege of reaching AOL > subscribers, others will end up in junk folders. Yahoo is expected to > follow down the same path. > > I have nothing against certification as an additional tool in the fight > against spam. Knowing that message such and such genuinely comes from its > purported sender can help improve the accuracy of your spam filter. I > also understand that certification costs money, unless sponsored by the > government or by volunteers donating their time to the cause. But I think > per-message certification fees make as much sense as per-click SSL > certificate fees. I also find that the "rumoured" rates that have been > mentioned in some of the press articles are totally out of proportion > with the service being provided. The fee is several times what providers > currently charge for the service of hosting the mailing list, removing > dead addresses, making backups, etc. As an illustration, a typical hobby > list would cost on the order of $500-1000 a year. An active list could > cost $10k or more a year. This may not be much for the advertisement > manager of a large company, not when compared to print adverts, but what > about the rest of us? I know L-Soft hosting customers cannot afford the > price increase that would be necessary to cover an identification fee of > five figures PER DAY. > > And for many of us, this identification fee is not even an option. To be > eligible for Goodmail accreditation, you must "have business headquarters > located in the United States or Canada." Foreigners need not bother. You > must also "have at least a 6 month mailing history from [the] IP" address > from which you are sending your newsletter. This of course makes it very > difficult to switch ISPs if you are not satisfied with the one you are > using. A new ISP means a new IP address, and Goodmail will then shut you > down for "at least 6 months." A nice 'protection' plan for the ISP, but a > disaster for customers. > > Anyway, here is a link to our full press release, which has been sent to > major publications today. And I want to salute the courage of the > executives at hosting-only companies that have spoken up and protested, > knowing full well that they would go out of business in a matter of > months were their access to AOL and Yahoo mailboxes to be cut off in > retaliation. In the post-Enron era, this kind of corporate courage is > very rare indeed. I stand on much firmer ground, as hosting is only a > side activity at L-Soft, but I can still imagine what must have gone > through their mind before they hit the send button. > > http://www.lsoft.com/news/aol-goodmail.asp > >