Web.com pulls the rug out from under free users, again

King Of Email · 14 Mar 2007, 04:15 AM

Web.com, a long standing web presence and web hosting service has for the second time, pulled the rug out from under its free users after inviting them to register to enjoy free email accounts with them. I originally registered for a free email account with Web.com circa 1999 when it was a small, basic features 3MB email box managed by Commtouch. It wasn't long after that, that Web.com unceremoniously dumped its user base without apology or explanation.

About 5 years later Web.com once again invited users to register for free email, this time a "whopping" 100MB in an era of gigabyte sized free email accounts. I decided to give my old address another shot assuming Web.com had improved its customer service business model. Today I got the notice that free users were going to get the boot in less than a month and all accounts would be deleted unless of course you agree to pay for it.

I'm not sure how many free email users this effects, but I think it is important to praise web services that genuinely offer free services and stand by them and expose others that play games with users and use bait and switch tactics instead of honesty and commitment to principle. It is for this reason that I will never, ever use Web.com or any of its business partners to provide me with any form of web hosting or service whatsoever and neither should anyone else. For those who think I am being unfairly critical, also note that Web.com removed its free email login page months ago and only through my knowledge of probable email login urls was I able to recover it.

The King always remembers the good guys and never forgets the bad ones, and these slimeballs belong to the latter.

aleinss · 11 Apr 2007, 03:06 AM

Sounds just like what Runbox did, oh well, I pay for my e-mail now, much easier that way.

King Of Email · 11 Apr 2007, 06:13 AM

alienss, I also had Runbox throw me out as a free user not long after they advertised free 100MB accounts which I unfortunately referred to other people as a new great free service that almost immediately threw them out as well making me look like a chump. Web.com did the same even earlier than Runbox did, but unlike Runbox they returned to offer free email once again after many years with the promise of upgrades and new features. After all, 100MB now is nothing in an era of gigabyte sized and unlimited free email accounts. Yet Web.com did it again.

I only wanted my old account back for nostalgic reasons and because of the easy web address, (web.com).I assumed they wouldn't pull the same trick on users again. I was wrong. Anyhow, Web.com's offering is the same as Mail.com's but without the pop-ups and banner ads that plague Mail.com users. Web.com is hardly alone in sticking the knife in free user's backs, and thankfully the bait and switch trend has largely subsided due to Gmail and others plus the bad reputation such services get for offering a free service only to turn around and demand money or subscriptions to unwanted services to keep the account.

By the way, I have had pay for service email as well, and it had as much spam and as much downtime and failure rates as some of the free stuff.

aleinss · 14 Apr 2007, 01:27 AM

100MB was big back then, because I think most of the accounts like Yahoo! and Hotmail were like 10MB. I use Tuffmail and use IMAPSize to backup the mailbox on a monthly basis. I think it works out to $3/month. Definitely worth the piece of mind I get.

14 Mar 2007, 04:15 AM	#1
King Of Email Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 622	Web.com pulls the rug out from under free users, again Web.com, a long standing web presence and web hosting service has for the second time, pulled the rug out from under its free users after inviting them to register to enjoy free email accounts with them. I originally registered for a free email account with Web.com circa 1999 when it was a small, basic features 3MB email box managed by Commtouch. It wasn't long after that, that Web.com unceremoniously dumped its user base without apology or explanation. About 5 years later Web.com once again invited users to register for free email, this time a "whopping" 100MB in an era of gigabyte sized free email accounts. I decided to give my old address another shot assuming Web.com had improved its customer service business model. Today I got the notice that free users were going to get the boot in less than a month and all accounts would be deleted unless of course you agree to pay for it. I'm not sure how many free email users this effects, but I think it is important to praise web services that genuinely offer free services and stand by them and expose others that play games with users and use bait and switch tactics instead of honesty and commitment to principle. It is for this reason that I will never, ever use Web.com or any of its business partners to provide me with any form of web hosting or service whatsoever and neither should anyone else. For those who think I am being unfairly critical, also note that Web.com removed its free email login page months ago and only through my knowledge of probable email login urls was I able to recover it. The King always remembers the good guys and never forgets the bad ones, and these slimeballs belong to the latter.

11 Apr 2007, 06:13 AM	#3
King Of Email Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 622	Web, Runbox, etc alienss, I also had Runbox throw me out as a free user not long after they advertised free 100MB accounts which I unfortunately referred to other people as a new great free service that almost immediately threw them out as well making me look like a chump. Web.com did the same even earlier than Runbox did, but unlike Runbox they returned to offer free email once again after many years with the promise of upgrades and new features. After all, 100MB now is nothing in an era of gigabyte sized and unlimited free email accounts. Yet Web.com did it again. I only wanted my old account back for nostalgic reasons and because of the easy web address, (web.com).I assumed they wouldn't pull the same trick on users again. I was wrong. Anyhow, Web.com's offering is the same as Mail.com's but without the pop-ups and banner ads that plague Mail.com users. Web.com is hardly alone in sticking the knife in free user's backs, and thankfully the bait and switch trend has largely subsided due to Gmail and others plus the bad reputation such services get for offering a free service only to turn around and demand money or subscriptions to unwanted services to keep the account. By the way, I have had pay for service email as well, and it had as much spam and as much downtime and failure rates as some of the free stuff.

11 Apr 2007, 03:06 AM	#2
aleinss Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 71	Sounds just like what Runbox did, oh well, I pay for my e-mail now, much easier that way.

14 Apr 2007, 01:27 AM	#4
aleinss Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 71	100MB was big back then, because I think most of the accounts like Yahoo! and Hotmail were like 10MB. I use Tuffmail and use IMAPSize to backup the mailbox on a monthly basis. I think it works out to $3/month. Definitely worth the piece of mind I get.