NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Re: Comcast limits on outbound e-mail traffic?
On Mon, 12 Nov 2007, Robb Topolski <robb@funchords.com> wrote:
On 11/12/07, Lauren Weinstein <lauren@vortex.com> wrote:Over on the NNSquad Forum, a poster is claiming that Comcast enforces a "secret" limit of 50 outbound e-mails per some (undisclosed) period of time for residential (presumably dynamic IP address) subscribers ( http://forums.pfir.org/main/messages/714/777.html ).
I have posted a response to this on the forum. It's not a "secret" but it is also not plainly disclosed in the Help files or FAQ. It has been mentioned several times in the Email section of Comcast's Support forums.
WRT Net Neutrality, every smtp system has its limits. If they are not set by the admin or the smtpd software, then they are set by the physical limits of the server. While I wish it was disclosed better than it is, I don't see this as a Net Neutrality issue at all.
See http://forums.pfir.org/main/messages/714/777.html for my reply. Please reply there if you have anything to add.
If the company disallows email connections directly to and from the box in your house, then this is a violation of Net Neutrality, unless the the company explains that what you get is not a Net connection, but something else.
To recur to the POTS analogy: The telephone company cannot arbitrarily disallow uses of the POTS circuit. Once they could, but this defect in the PSTN was repaired by about, ah, I think 1990, in New York state.
The situation of a company which sells you a special particular service running on their boxes is different. Such a company might price the service as they please, and that is no violation of Net Neutrality.
ad use of the forum: Socrates and Marshall McLuhan were right about the power of the medium to shape the conversation. Please forgive me for responding here rather than over at the web forum thingie. I can compose email at my pace, and I use my email terminal with some ease. Not so for me with a web forum thingie.
oo--JS.