** B A N D W I D T H **

artastic · 22 Apr 2003, 12:05 PM

I was EXCITED with fastmail's SPEEDYness until I found out that there was a bandwidth limit of 40MB per month.

I've never heard of this before from any web based emails. Have you ?

Receiving or sending mail or attachments up to 40MB per month ... get shut out for the whole month unless you UPGRADE and pay for extra ... even if you " clean up " your Inbox, Sent and Trash permanently. I'd say it's ridiculous and another way of making $$.

Why didn't fastmail tell me this just before I JOINED ?!! It's not fair to get sucked in .. then stuck in mud .. it ain't easy changing emails all the time and having to notify everyone I know.

I was EXCITED with 10MB storage and thought if I kept " cleaning out " .. I wouldn't have a problem. I've even tried the suggestions Fastmail offered, but to no avail.

Now I'm forced to go back to Yahoo or Hotmail ... anyone with ideas as to another reliable, web based, email that offers at least 10MB storage ? Please email me : wildlipz@hotmail.com THANKS.

lux · 22 Apr 2003, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by artastic
Why didn't fastmail tell me this just before I JOINED ?!!

It is on the homepage. Didn't you see that when you sign up?

Quote:

I'd say it's ridiculous and another way of making $$.

Probably not. For reasoning, see here:

http://www.emaildiscussions.com/...?threadid=2192

Quote:

I've never heard of this before from any web based emails. Have you ?

I think I have...

sjk · 22 Apr 2003, 12:57 PM

As a paying FastMail customer I have no sympathy for the selfish attitudes and complaints of non-paying guest users who, regardless of the reasons, think they deserve more than what they're already being given for free.

JeremyY · 22 Apr 2003, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by sjk
As a paying FastMail customer I have no sympathy for the selfish attitudes and complaints of non-paying guest users who, regardless of the reasons, think they deserve more than what they're already being given for free.

Well said sjk. I'm only a guest user because I'm a student and dont have a CC, but I must say, i feel the same way as sjk. I would definately pay for an upgrade, and as low as 40mb may sound, that goes a long way and I dont see how you could complain. Don't be selfish.. be glad with what you get. bandwidth costs money and so does keeping up a server. If you want more, then pay for it. Just be glad that the service isnt bombarded with ads like some services.

**Sherry** · 22 Apr 2003, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by artastic
Why didn't fastmail tell me this just before I JOINED ?!!

I'm not sure how you missed it but what I see on the sign up page is the following.

Guest
Sign up now

10 MB storage space
40 MB bw/month
IMAP/Web access
45 day no activity period
Taglines on emails
Ads in the web-interface
(no pop-ups)

That looks pretty clear to me.

Quote:

anyone with ideas as to another reliable, web based, email that offers at least 10MB storage ?

Afraid I can't help you with that one...

Sherry

***Edwin*** · 22 Apr 2003, 02:36 PM

perhaps "40MB bw/month" should read "40MB bandwidth/month" since people might not know what bw stands for.

Mind you, many people won't know what "bandwidth" is either, but since all the FAQ and other references are to "bandwidth" it at least normalises all documents around a common term with a defined meaning.

kander · 22 Apr 2003, 02:57 PM

artastic,

You say that you haven't seen this kind of policy with other mail providers before, right? Well that's right. You don't see it. It's there, but cleverly hidden in what they call an 'Acceptable Use Policy'', which basically states 'You can do whatever you want to your mail, as long as we find it acceptable'. If you start doing weird stuff like going over your bandwidth limit, they will simply terminate and dispose your address claiming you violated the Acceptable Use Policy.

And by the way, how many e-mails DO you send that you think 40 MB per month is not enough?! That would mean you'd send and receive 40960 KB of mails. Consider the size of an averagely long mail to be 8 KB gets you 5120 e-mails. For free. Now I wonder what anyone would want with 5120 e-mails monthly, really. If you're the kind of user that has such high needs perhaps switching to one of the paid accounts is a more realistic option....

--K

odedp · 22 Apr 2003, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kander
artastic,

And by the way, how many e-mails DO you send that you think 40 MB per month is not enough?! That would mean you'd send and receive 40960 KB of mails. Consider the size of an averagely long mail to be 8 KB gets you 5120 e-mails. For free. Now I wonder what anyone would want with 5120 e-mails monthly, really. If you're the kind of user that has such high needs perhaps switching to one of the paid accounts is a more realistic option....

--K

..... and suppose 40MB bw/month is not enough for you, instead of paying every month for extra bandwidth, why not buy yourself a "member" account for one time $14.95 and enjoy 80MB bw/month for life without having to pay another cent!!!
I doubt if you can get a better deal elsewhere...

Oded

**psalzer** · 22 Apr 2003, 07:58 PM

I don't think I've ever exceeded 40 MB of bw in a month. Could be wrong, but I don't think so, and I could..I've got 750 MB to play with. I get photos and other attachments, some of which I've downloaded more than once. I get tons of spam to a couple of addresses that I have redirected to Fastmail (Very little if any to my actual Fastmail address). They're nicely filtered, but they still cost bandwith, and still don't go over. If 40's not enough you have to be a fairly heavy user.

anj · 23 Apr 2003, 02:19 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Edwin
perhaps "40MB bw/month" should read "40MB bandwidth/month" since people might not know what bw stands for.

I think this is a good point and would be more fair. But I am guessing that artastic would have known what bw/month was, and simply didn't notice the line. Since many providers don't have this limit, s/he probably didn't even check for it. Like other fastmail users, I am glad that fastmail has reasonable limits. People who want to use more resources should pay more money. That way, the price for a basic email account with very good features, stays reasonable.

anj · 23 Apr 2003, 02:33 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by artastic
Why didn't fastmail tell me this just before I JOINED ?!! It's not fair to get sucked in .. then stuck in mud .. it ain't easy changing emails all the time and having to notify everyone I know.

I can understand your frustration, but I think you will get more sympathy here if you would just admit that you didn't notice the limitation stated on the same page where you signed up. You just got burned because you didn't notice the limitation. Those of us fastmail users who want to stick with fastmail are happy that they are running a profitable business with reasonable prices and great service. I am sure you will agree if you give it another chance.

As others have said 40MB is A LOT of email. No, it is not a lot of attachments, but there are other ways of dealing with attachments. I am sure people would be happy to give you some suggestions for attachments if you give fastmail a FAIR chance. If you want a great email service for free or inexpensive ($15), then you should try to find other ways of sharing large files. If you want a mediocre email service that allows you to use bandwidth indiscriminately, then keep looking.

Quote:

anyone with ideas as to another reliable, web based, email that offers at least 10MB storage?

There are other threads about other email providers in the Comments, Criticism, and Praise forum.

s a · 23 Apr 2003, 04:49 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by artastic
I found out that there was a bandwidth limit of 40MB per month. Why didn't fastmail tell me this just before I JOINED ?!!

I think Fastmail is one of the few services that honestly describes what they provide. New users should spend a little time going through the FAQ where questions such as yours are nicely answered .

FMRocks · 23 Apr 2003, 08:52 AM

Ok, first of all, it is quite clearly stated on the homepage what the bandwidth limitation is. Secondly, like everyone else pointed out, 40MB is a whole lot. I am a full member, but I have never exceeded the 40MB bandwidth. Keep in mind that EVERY email service that hopes to last must and does limit bandwidth one way or another. Hotmail and Yahoo limit your attachment sizes. Fastmail is just honest and up front about it, and instead of limiting each individual email, it lets you manage your own resources. Frankly, I like it better that way.

bitequator · 23 Apr 2003, 10:08 AM

After you spend *considerable* time setting up/customizing your FM acct (as your new main mailbox) with all their unique features and addressing methods and Sieve and such, you would want them to be stable and last FOREVER

Heck I'd be fine if they stop giving out new free accts

There's just something about "free" that makes one uncomfortable...

**Gankaku** · 23 Apr 2003, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by odedp
..... and suppose 40MB bw/month is not enough for you, instead of paying every month for extra bandwidth, why not buy yourself a "member" account for one time $14.95 and enjoy 80MB bw/month for life without having to pay another cent!!!
I doubt if you can get a better deal elsewhere...

Oded

This would be the way to go! I'm a full member - I have alllllll my email going through fastmail, and sometimes I download email to my machine (double bandwidth hit). I've exceeded the 40 mb bw but have never hit 80. Bandwidth-wise, a heavy user could probably do with a member account, as long as they watched what they downloaded and if they use their isp's smtp server (or the web) to send mail.

22 Apr 2003, 12:05 PM	#1
artastic Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 3	B A N D W I D T H I was EXCITED with fastmail's SPEEDYness until I found out that there was a bandwidth limit of 40MB per month. I've never heard of this before from any web based emails. Have you ? Receiving or sending mail or attachments up to 40MB per month ... get shut out for the whole month unless you UPGRADE and pay for extra ... even if you " clean up " your Inbox, Sent and Trash permanently. I'd say it's ridiculous and another way of making $$. Why didn't fastmail tell me this just before I JOINED ?!! It's not fair to get sucked in .. then stuck in mud .. it ain't easy changing emails all the time and having to notify everyone I know. I was EXCITED with 10MB storage and thought if I kept " cleaning out " .. I wouldn't have a problem. I've even tried the suggestions Fastmail offered, but to no avail. Now I'm forced to go back to Yahoo or Hotmail ... anyone with ideas as to another reliable, web based, email that offers at least 10MB storage ? Please email me : wildlipz@hotmail.com THANKS.

22 Apr 2003, 12:57 PM	#3
sjk Master of the @ Join Date: May 2002 Location: Eugene Posts: 1,975	As a paying FastMail customer I have no sympathy for the selfish attitudes and complaints of non-paying guest users who, regardless of the reasons, think they deserve more than what they're already being given for free.

22 Apr 2003, 02:36 PM	#6
*Edwin* Administrator Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: UK Posts: 3,118	perhaps "40MB bw/month" should read "40MB bandwidth/month" since people might not know what bw stands for. Mind you, many people won't know what "bandwidth" is either, but since all the FAQ and other references are to "bandwidth" it at least normalises all documents around a common term with a defined meaning.

22 Apr 2003, 02:57 PM	#7
kander The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 4,112	artastic, You say that you haven't seen this kind of policy with other mail providers before, right? Well that's right. You don't see it. It's there, but cleverly hidden in what they call an 'Acceptable Use Policy'', which basically states 'You can do whatever you want to your mail, as long as we find it acceptable'. If you start doing weird stuff like going over your bandwidth limit, they will simply terminate and dispose your address claiming you violated the Acceptable Use Policy. And by the way, how many e-mails DO you send that you think 40 MB per month is not enough?! That would mean you'd send and receive 40960 KB of mails. Consider the size of an averagely long mail to be 8 KB gets you 5120 e-mails. For free. Now I wonder what anyone would want with 5120 e-mails monthly, really. If you're the kind of user that has such high needs perhaps switching to one of the paid accounts is a more realistic option.... --K

22 Apr 2003, 07:58 PM	#9
psalzer Moderator Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 2,654	I don't think I've ever exceeded 40 MB of bw in a month. Could be wrong, but I don't think so, and I could..I've got 750 MB to play with. I get photos and other attachments, some of which I've downloaded more than once. I get tons of spam to a couple of addresses that I have redirected to Fastmail (Very little if any to my actual Fastmail address). They're nicely filtered, but they still cost bandwith, and still don't go over. If 40's not enough you have to be a fairly heavy user.

23 Apr 2003, 08:52 AM	#13
FMRocks The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: FM does NOT refer to Fastmail (anymore). Posts: 4,034	Ok, first of all, it is quite clearly stated on the homepage what the bandwidth limitation is. Secondly, like everyone else pointed out, 40MB is a whole lot. I am a full member, but I have never exceeded the 40MB bandwidth. Keep in mind that EVERY email service that hopes to last must and does limit bandwidth one way or another. Hotmail and Yahoo limit your attachment sizes. Fastmail is just honest and up front about it, and instead of limiting each individual email, it lets you manage your own resources. Frankly, I like it better that way.

23 Apr 2003, 10:08 AM	#14
bitequator The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: USA Posts: 2,978	After you spend considerable time setting up/customizing your FM acct (as your new main mailbox) with all their unique features and addressing methods and Sieve and such, you would want them to be stable and last FOREVER Heck I'd be fine if they stop giving out new free accts There's just something about "free" that makes one uncomfortable...