PE>> Plan for new network
PE>> --------------------

RS> Whats the point ?  Why not just use the net and do something
RS> about any deficiencys you think there are in using the net ?

RS> Its fairly unlikely that something that popular has any major problems.

PE> Hobbyists are unable to exchange mail for free using the internet,
PE> they have to pay an ISP.  That's the whole point of fidonet.

RS> While thats superficially true, its more complicated than that in practice.
RS> Your ISP is actually costing you the SAME as that extra line which is what
RS> most fido nodes end up with. So its no more free than the ISP.

JT> You can point or node off fido without paying your uplink.

Yes, but the practical reality is that nodes normally do have
an extra line, and so there is that real cost for that. In
this particular case its the same cost as his ISP, $10/month.

JT> You cannot get any internet link for free unless you scam those
JT> x-free hours deals, and that is not a permanent soloution anyway.

Sure, I didnt mean that, just that the fido node hardly ever
is free either in a practical sense, because of the extra line.

JT> Just because fido nodes are likely to get another
JT> line in doesn't always come into the equation,

It does actually on that free question. Real nodes arent normally free.
So when the ISP costs the same amount, there isnt any cost difference.

JT> BBSs with internet access do the same, they have the
JT> line, the extra calls AND the internet fees to pay.

Sure, I wasnt discussing that particular case, just the
question of using a fido node or the net for access to mail.

I've never thought that BBSs with net access really make a whole lot
of sense either, might as well just use an ISP instead of a hybrid.

JT> The point being, given equal footing,
JT> fido costs nothing extra, internet does.

In theory. In practice a fido node normally costs an extra line,
and that can be the same cost as an account with an ISP. So in a
practical sense the cost is the same for mail access. And then you
have to question the value of doing other than the standard net route.
@EOT:

---