As many of you know, I personally provide the free InspectorPages.com web sites. I’m thinking about adding e-mail, but it creates enough complexity in the system that I wouldn’t be able to offer it for free (I’m taking a relatively small loss on the current system, which I think is well worth the chance to give every NACHI member a web site, but e-mail is just much more expensive to run). I’ve figured out that I’m going to need about 150 people who are willing to pay for an e-mail account to be able to recoup my losses, so I thought I’d put up a preliminary poll to see if it’s worthwhile.
The accounts would include secure access to an outgoing mail server, secure IMAP and POP servers (to access the mail through Outlook, Thunderbird, etc), secure Web mail with a feedreader, calendar, contacts, to-do list, etc. All accounts would be virus-protected and have anti-spam software running. They’d also be @yourdomain.com (with the option of using @inspectorpages.com if you don’t have a domain name).
Regardless of what we decide here, I will be adding a few new features to the system in the coming months. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to offer all of them for free, but I’ll do my best to keep the prices as low as possible (the current system will always remain free to NACHI members).
Well, only 5 people said they’d be up for it so I’m just going to wait. I really need about 100 people using it before it’d be worth the cost of getting it set up and the support structure in place.
In the long run I hope to add mail to the system, but it looks like it might have to wait.
That makes sense, Chris;
Had you considered, based on the miniscule % of members that actually visit this board, & the fewer that see every post, that an email to members may be worthwhile?
This may be just what some semi-web-literate folks need to get them a web presence . . .??
Just a thought; I know you have an already full plate!
I did think of that Russell, and I actually do plan on sending out an e-mail to everyone who uses InspectorPages.com some time in the near future to see if it’s worthwhile. I’ll post more when I get the results from that e-mail.