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|
| Author |
Message |
| 25 new of 115 responses total. |
rcurl
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response 80 of 115:
| 
May 5 04:22 UTC 2010 |
Perhaps those wanting the dialup should get together and agree to pay for it?
What's wrong with using your laptop and scapping the 286?
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keesan
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response 81 of 115:
|
May 5 14:17 UTC 2010 |
Probably saeger is moving some placed without free wifi access.
If it is some place in Michigan, get a free dialup account with dialinfree,
and outside of Michigan someone mentioned another free dialup service.
There are also cheap services. vt.isp was $4/month last I knew.
Rane and I are among the last people to use grex dialup and I have not
done so for a few months now.
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kentn
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response 82 of 115:
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May 5 18:16 UTC 2010 |
The problems we have with the dialup lines are: 1. not enough usage
and 2. not enough money coming in to pay for them. If we still had dozens
of users with memberships to pay for them, it wouldn't be an issue to keep
them. But right now, we're slowly but surely going broke, so dropping
this on-going cost is one thing we can do to slow down that slide.
As others have mentioned, there are alternatives for dial-in (and free
ones to boot). If, by some odd chance, dial-up modems come back into
vogue and there is a great demand for the lines, we can discuss putting
them back in. But I rather doubt we will see that demand.
If someone (or a group of someones) wants to pay the monthly cost of a
line, we could discuss that as an alternative to removal.
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rcurl
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response 83 of 115:
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May 5 20:39 UTC 2010 |
I haven't used dialup - anywhere - for years. I don't even have a modem that
will work with any of my computers.
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tod
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response 84 of 115:
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May 5 20:48 UTC 2010 |
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/voice/thread?tid=0c71b883aeab0711&hl=
en
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kentn
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response 85 of 115:
|
May 6 03:31 UTC 2010 |
Re 83: same for me. Well, I do have an external modem I could use, but I've
a got decent download speed from the cable company, so no need to use it.
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glitch
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response 86 of 115:
|
May 7 20:20 UTC 2010 |
What would maintaining a single dialin cost per month? If it's low enough,
perhaps the few of us who do still use the dialins could pay to keep one of
them up.
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slynne
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response 87 of 115:
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May 7 20:32 UTC 2010 |
I don't think it is a lot. Maybe $20/mo per line. So all it would take
to keep one up is $240/year and if there is enough interest, I am sure
the board will consider keeping one around. If that $20/mo is in the
ball park, it would be in grex's best interest to keep a dial up line if
it brings in only four annual memberships.
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rcurl
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response 88 of 115:
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May 7 21:12 UTC 2010 |
Shouldn't the "fee" for dialups be in addition to the general dues?
|
slynne
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response 89 of 115:
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May 7 21:17 UTC 2010 |
It depends. If grex can get 4 or more additional memberships (i.e
memberships that grex would not otherwise get) because of a dial up line
then it would make sense to keep it.
why? 12 mos x $20 = $240 and 4 x $60 = $240
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mary
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response 90 of 115:
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May 7 21:53 UTC 2010 |
A single line residential line is $39 and change, after taxes and fees.
If I see Mark Conger tomorrow I'll ask about Grex's phone bill.
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keesan
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response 91 of 115:
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May 7 22:14 UTC 2010 |
My residential phone line is $29 including fees and taxes. Ask Mark to
contact us about a reel-to-reel tape deck Jim fixed for him to use.
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kentn
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response 92 of 115:
|
May 7 22:18 UTC 2010 |
Thanks, Mary.
If we could get usage statistics from the last 6 months that'd give us a
better idea of actual usage. What we've heard up to now is that usage
is so abysmally low (24 minutes in one month) that it doesn't justify
paying for the lines or having the staff potentially spend time to keep
them working for dialup. Even if the lines were paid for, we'd still
require staff to maintain them (such as previous discussion of better
modems).
Can staff give us such a report? Or are we limited to just the last
month?
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slynne
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response 93 of 115:
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May 8 01:49 UTC 2010 |
resp:90 Is that because Grex is not eligible for the $19.75 residential
plan advertised on ATT's web site?
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rcurl
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response 94 of 115:
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May 8 04:38 UTC 2010 |
I bet that's for 6 months...
Re #89: that just pays for the dialin - it doesn't support the rest of Grex,
which the dialins would still be using.
|
mary
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response 95 of 115:
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May 8 10:52 UTC 2010 |
I'd like to hear from someone who comes in on dialup (or has a modem) if
dialinfree works. If it does, cool, it's time to make the move. If it
doesn't, we'll have to decide whether we can afford to maintain even one
line for so few users.
I really don't want to move into anyone paying for a specific service.
That just seems wrong and then puts us into contract mode where we're
obligated to support this access, possible ahead of everything else our
volunteer staff has to cover.
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slynne
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response 96 of 115:
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May 8 13:08 UTC 2010 |
resp:94 I guess but I pay around $30 for my land line and I have a lot
of features grex doesn't need. I suspect there is probably a different
pricing structure for business vs residential customers.
Regardless, if it is more like $40/mo than the marginal increase in
memberships per year would have to be 8. I thought 4 would be a stretch.
I don't think 8 is very likely.
I agree with Mary that outright charging people for dial up service is
probably a bad idea.
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keesan
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response 97 of 115:
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May 8 15:50 UTC 2010 |
I pay $29 without any features. I have been using dialinfree with grex for
years now.
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kentn
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response 98 of 115:
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May 8 19:44 UTC 2010 |
As a non-profit, we can take donations with a purpose and put them
toward a service. It does not need to be seen as charging people for a
service.
If we do try to get a new machine and use it as fund-raiser, that would
be no different.
|
cyklone
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response 99 of 115:
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May 8 21:03 UTC 2010 |
I doubt the costs associated with "maintaining" dialup access are all
that great in terms of time and money. If a subgroup of users are
willing to cover the costs, then I can't see any good reason for grex to
ignore such efforts by that group.
|
glitch
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response 100 of 115:
|
May 9 02:37 UTC 2010 |
I'd certainly be willing to become a full, paying member if it'd help keep
the dialins up -- my girlfriend and I use them when we're traveling and can't
get to a free Internet connection, since many of our relatives live out in
the country. While I'm geographically distant from the actual servers, I'd
also be willing to donate time in keeping the dialin managed.
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keesan
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response 101 of 115:
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May 9 03:46 UTC 2010 |
Do your relatives live in Michigan? One month's membership is only $5 or $6,
not enough for one phone line.
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rcurl
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response 102 of 115:
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May 9 04:32 UTC 2010 |
If you get enough users donating to cover the cost of one dialin connection,
won't they have frequent conflicts of use, and perhaps find the service
unsatisfactory for that reason?
|
glitch
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response 103 of 115:
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May 9 05:00 UTC 2010 |
@101: no, but i've generated a script for minicom that allows the use of a
calling card with dialins. Usually you're stuck with lower speeds, but for
signing in to check e-mail and such it's fine.
With as little dialin access as has been reported, I wouldn't think that there
would be enough use to make a single line inconvenient. Even if two people
called at the same time, with 24 min/month, you'd just have to wait a few
minutes and call again.
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mary
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response 104 of 115:
|
May 9 10:21 UTC 2010 |
Mark said Grex's phone bill comes to between $50 and $60 a month, for the
two lines.
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