Tuffmail under new management.

biinc · 13 Aug 2010, 05:58 PM

Hi everyone,

My name is Derek Ferguson, and I'm the owner of Breah Internet Inc, which recently purchased Tuffmail from IRBS Engineering (owned by John Capo).

I've been a Tuffmail user for four years, and always thought it was a great service - it just seemed to work perfectly month after month and year after year.

Several months ago, I found out through a mutual friend that John was thinking about selling Tuffmail. I soon expressed my interest since I had been been wanting to run my own online service, and so I saw it as a terrific opportunity.

Breah Internet Inc is based out of Vancouver, BC, which is where I live. I plan to leave the Tuffmail servers where they are at Ethernext in Miami, FL. I have remote hands there to perform hardware maintenance and upgrades.

My plan for the near future is to just continue with things the way they are while I become more familiar with John's system design. The most significant change I have on the drawing board is a redesigned Account Manager with a goal of improved usability.

My background is in systems administration and programming going back to 1996. I used to manage fairly busy mail servers, so I do have a lot of experience in this area. I will admit, however, that a lot has changed in the last 8-9 years, so I've got some catching up to do.

I share John's passion for running an RFC-compliant, reliable email service with a focus on spam filtering and advanced controls. I don't plan on rocking the boat in that regard.

John is actively assisting with the ownership transition for at least the next four months, which means he's training me on his system design and providing technical support when I need it. He will remain as part owner in the new company, so he'll always be available for consultation.

Payment options will remain the same, except for checks - we'll be providing notification for a new address for mailing checks this month. For now, checks can be sent to the old address.

I hope that clears things up - please let me know if you have any questions.

Best regards,

Derek Ferguson
Tuffmail

**Sherry** · 13 Aug 2010, 06:27 PM

[Moderator:]

biinc, would you please send a PM to Edwin to see if you should be given Service Representative status. Thank you.

Welcome to the EMD Forums

nbarr · 13 Aug 2010, 06:31 PM

Hello Derek.
Welcome to EMD and thanks for letting us know what's afoot at Tuffmail.

I'm also a long time Tuffmail user (2004).

**ReuvenNY** · 13 Aug 2010, 08:59 PM

Welcome to the forum (as well as to Tuffmail) Derek!
We all appreciate your presence here and are looking forward to your participation as well as a continuity in providing a great email service. Tuffmail enjoys an excellent reputation among the members of this forum and an improved usability of the Account Manager will make it even better.

Welcome again,

Reuven

William9 · 13 Aug 2010, 11:37 PM

I had a support question for my Tuffmail account and Derek answered my email promptly. I was impressed because it was about midnight West Coast time. I thought he was answering me from Florida at 03:00 AM! I've been a very satisfied Tuffmail customer for about 4 years (since the several day server 4 Fastmail outage).

Berenburger · 14 Aug 2010, 06:41 AM

Derek, my very welcome too! I'm a big fan of Tuffmail and hope the great quality this service has, will continue. It would be nice for us to meet you here regularly.

NB: This thread causes much less 'noise' than the FastMail take-over.

digp · 14 Aug 2010, 09:46 PM

the tuffmail website needs a big makover (by professionals) as well as the cp.

i am now considering moving from fm to tm! will wait to see what changes before deciding to do so ...

Berenburger · 15 Aug 2010, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by digp

the tuffmail website needs a big makover (by professionals) as well as the cp.

Better, upgrade my favourite web clients to the latest versions, resp. Squirrelmail to 1.4.21 and Roundcube to vs. 0.4-stable.

William9 · 16 Aug 2010, 12:31 AM

I second updating RoundCube to version 0.4 stable. I'm not a big fan of Squirrelmail. The GUI looks dated.

beq · 29 Aug 2010, 02:36 AM

Thanks for the announcement Derek, and congrats. I've really appreciated Tuffmail and John's expert support. Not sure what he's up to now, but I hope he'll have more time for sailing (thus living up to the IRBS moniker)

In addition to direct email/phone support, do you also plan to have an increased presence in the Tuffmail forum, or even here on EMD? I'm just asking out of curiousity...

Berenburger · 30 Aug 2010, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beq

In addition to direct email/phone support, ........ <snipped>

The phone number is removed from the contact page.
This was the (old) number.

William9 · 30 Aug 2010, 11:37 AM

Oh, oh ... What does removing the phone number mean for customer support for this pay service catering to businesses?

sheprd · 31 Aug 2010, 11:13 PM

My $0.02 worth. Please simplify big time the signup and configuring of email accounts.

aleinss · 17 Sep 2010, 10:30 PM

Hmm, I just decided to randomly check the forum today and I see this announcement?! I checked System Status and the main web page and no mention of it. Weird.

cptn0 · 19 Sep 2010, 12:22 AM

FWIW I had a (self-induced, as it fortunately turned out) problem with my mail hosted on tuffmail. I was used to quick replies by John, so when I sent a support request and got nothing within an hour - that was quite unexpected. Good thing I solved the issue myself, pat-pat. If this was an actual problem on tuffmail end - I am not sure how that would work out.

Between phone number no longer available on contact page, lack of timely support email response and little notice on tuffmail site itself of what's going on - I wonder how this change of ownership will pan out.

13 Aug 2010, 05:58 PM	#1
biinc Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 2	Tuffmail under new management. Hi everyone, My name is Derek Ferguson, and I'm the owner of Breah Internet Inc, which recently purchased Tuffmail from IRBS Engineering (owned by John Capo). I've been a Tuffmail user for four years, and always thought it was a great service - it just seemed to work perfectly month after month and year after year. Several months ago, I found out through a mutual friend that John was thinking about selling Tuffmail. I soon expressed my interest since I had been been wanting to run my own online service, and so I saw it as a terrific opportunity. Breah Internet Inc is based out of Vancouver, BC, which is where I live. I plan to leave the Tuffmail servers where they are at Ethernext in Miami, FL. I have remote hands there to perform hardware maintenance and upgrades. My plan for the near future is to just continue with things the way they are while I become more familiar with John's system design. The most significant change I have on the drawing board is a redesigned Account Manager with a goal of improved usability. My background is in systems administration and programming going back to 1996. I used to manage fairly busy mail servers, so I do have a lot of experience in this area. I will admit, however, that a lot has changed in the last 8-9 years, so I've got some catching up to do. I share John's passion for running an RFC-compliant, reliable email service with a focus on spam filtering and advanced controls. I don't plan on rocking the boat in that regard. John is actively assisting with the ownership transition for at least the next four months, which means he's training me on his system design and providing technical support when I need it. He will remain as part owner in the new company, so he'll always be available for consultation. Payment options will remain the same, except for checks - we'll be providing notification for a new address for mailing checks this month. For now, checks can be sent to the old address. I hope that clears things up - please let me know if you have any questions. Best regards, Derek Ferguson Tuffmail

14 Aug 2010, 06:41 AM	#6
Berenburger The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 2,905	Congratulations Derek, my very welcome too! I'm a big fan of Tuffmail and hope the great quality this service has, will continue. It would be nice for us to meet you here regularly. NB: This thread causes much less 'noise' than the FastMail take-over.

13 Aug 2010, 06:27 PM	#2
Sherry Moderator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: USA Posts: 8,687	[Moderator:] biinc, would you please send a PM to Edwin to see if you should be given Service Representative status. Thank you. Welcome to the EMD Forums

13 Aug 2010, 06:31 PM	#3
nbarr Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Calgary Posts: 606	Hello Derek. Welcome to EMD and thanks for letting us know what's afoot at Tuffmail. I'm also a long time Tuffmail user (2004).

13 Aug 2010, 08:59 PM	#4
ReuvenNY Moderator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: New York Posts: 4,259	Welcome to the forum (as well as to Tuffmail) Derek! We all appreciate your presence here and are looking forward to your participation as well as a continuity in providing a great email service. Tuffmail enjoys an excellent reputation among the members of this forum and an improved usability of the Account Manager will make it even better. Welcome again, Reuven

13 Aug 2010, 11:37 PM	#5
William9 The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 2,281	I had a support question for my Tuffmail account and Derek answered my email promptly. I was impressed because it was about midnight West Coast time. I thought he was answering me from Florida at 03:00 AM! I've been a very satisfied Tuffmail customer for about 4 years (since the several day server 4 Fastmail outage).

14 Aug 2010, 09:46 PM	#7
digp Master of the @ Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 1,320	the tuffmail website needs a big makover (by professionals) as well as the cp. i am now considering moving from fm to tm! will wait to see what changes before deciding to do so ...

16 Aug 2010, 12:31 AM	#9
William9 The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 2,281	I second updating RoundCube to version 0.4 stable. I'm not a big fan of Squirrelmail. The GUI looks dated.

29 Aug 2010, 02:36 AM	#10
beq Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: USA Posts: 895	Thanks for the announcement Derek, and congrats. I've really appreciated Tuffmail and John's expert support. Not sure what he's up to now, but I hope he'll have more time for sailing (thus living up to the IRBS moniker) In addition to direct email/phone support, do you also plan to have an increased presence in the Tuffmail forum, or even here on EMD? I'm just asking out of curiousity...

30 Aug 2010, 11:37 AM	#12
William9 The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: San Francisco Posts: 2,281	Oh, oh ... What does removing the phone number mean for customer support for this pay service catering to businesses?

31 Aug 2010, 11:13 PM	#13
sheprd The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: VA, USA Posts: 2,789	My $0.02 worth. Please simplify big time the signup and configuring of email accounts.

17 Sep 2010, 10:30 PM	#14
aleinss Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 71	Hmm, I just decided to randomly check the forum today and I see this announcement?! I checked System Status and the main web page and no mention of it. Weird.

19 Sep 2010, 12:22 AM	#15
cptn0 Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 2	FWIW I had a (self-induced, as it fortunately turned out) problem with my mail hosted on tuffmail. I was used to quick replies by John, so when I sent a support request and got nothing within an hour - that was quite unexpected. Good thing I solved the issue myself, pat-pat. If this was an actual problem on tuffmail end - I am not sure how that would work out. Between phone number no longer available on contact page, lack of timely support email response and little notice on tuffmail site itself of what's going on - I wonder how this change of ownership will pan out.