Quote:
Originally Posted by n5bb
Am I the only person who reads the Terms Of Service? All TOS documents state that the current TOS always supersedes any previous terms, and that the service provider can terminate or modify accounts at any time for any reason. There were never any lifetime guarantee in the TOS or any other written communication from FastMail. Please read the TOS for FastMail or any other service and you will discover that services are provided at the discretion of the provider.
As you can see in the old EMD threads (such as the one posted by BritTim), FastMail considered lifetime features for Full and Enhanced accounts, but you won't find any mention of lifetime Member features. I have my original Welcome To FastMail email for my member account (sent 10 years ago), and there is no mention of any guaranteed period of service. The Member account was just a way for potential customers to try out the service before purchasing a much more expensive yearly Full or Enhanced account.
I think the key point is that all Member accounts received far more value than anyone anticipated 10-15 years ago when they made the purchase. You have been able to use many enhancements to a Member account (such as two factor authentication and many other features) which were not available originally. FastMail has been encouraging you to upgrade your account for years, and they are even refunding the money you paid in years ago to assist you in the upgrade. I can't understand why anyone thinks they are getting a raw deal here, when many of them received email service for less than US $1.50 per year.
Bill
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Bill, as I mentioned before, what is most important legally is the terms and conditions at the time the Member accounts were purchased. You cannot unilaterally change the agreement by subsequently putting up a webpage. Check back through archive.org and show me where anything prior to about 2007 implied Member accounts were trial accounts, and claimed the right to unilaterally withdraw Member account service. Look at the FAQ of that time where the Member account was promoted as a lower cost alternative for those needing features not available in free accounts, but unable to afford Full or Enhanced accounts.
I entirely agree that those who have Member accounts have received a good deal. I further agree that Fastmail was largely motivated to offer unlimited term Member accounts in the hope that many would convert later to higher level accounts. Pricing was calculated based on projections of the percentage of Member accounts that would do just that. None of this changes the fact that people
were purchasing accounts they expected, and were led to believe, they could use as long as Fastmail remained in business under the same, or better, conditions.
If you believe this to be untrue, find a single post on the forums from 2002-2006 where Jeremy or Rob M contradicted people who spoke of their lifetime subscription. There are none because, while Fastmail regretted it later, early Member accounts were purchased with that as the main selling point.
Saying the Member account was some kind of trial subscription is post facto rationalization, not supported by the facts.