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Old 29 Sep 2005, 08:32 PM   #42
ken274
Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 46
Runbox-lite

Quote:
I strongly dislike paying for facilities I do not need (viz. the 10GB), because when this happens my money effectively subsidizes other users
I couldn't agree more!

Although I understand that over the last year or so storage space has become a hot issue in webmail, with services such as Gmail offering gigabytes instead of megabytes for the first time, and one which has the potential to persuade a user to choose one service over another this doesn't make the next logical step to increase this space still further. Whereas the 100MB or so typically offered before this 'revolution' was clearly inadequate, with the increase to 1 or 2GB offering real benefit to the user who could store all their email online for the first time, I believe the increase from 1GB to 10GB is subject to the law of diminishing returns.

Is there anyone here that can see themselves using a fraction of this space - indeed is there anyone who was near their storage limit before this move was announced? I really would like to know, as I myself cannot see how even the most wasteful user could ever hope to fill it up. For example, given the 30MB attachment limit, it would be necessary to receive 341+ emails to fill the space. If there truly are those out there that would use the space then I would be very suprised.

The fact that runbox doesn't expect the vast majority of users to utilise this space is demonstrated by the fact that the storage quota for files, which presumably is something that most users have little difficulty filling, is a mere 1/10th of that allocated to email. Perhaps a more sensible move would have been to give those users who didn't need the extra space an option to increase this instead!

There is a tendancy to sell computer software and services on the basis of meaningless numbers, and I think that this space increase is just that. Unfortunately, another number which most potential users will perhaps be more interested in is that reflecting the new, increased price of the service. Although in the past free webmail was unusable for the level of advertisements posted everywhere and was severely crippled featurewise, the likes of gmail demonstrate this is no longer the case. Given this, I believe that runbox should focus on its strengths - providing real customer service and support - rather than trying to play the numbers game.

Ken.
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