Changes to Alias and Virtual Domain Limits - Page 2

snsh · 7 Apr 2006, 09:42 PM

http://ww.fastmail.fm

robmueller · 7 Apr 2006, 09:43 PM

Sorry, meant to get in here earlier. I've posted to the blog.

http://blog.fastmail.fm

Basically we've done this because it was confusing a lot of new users, and also it was a large support burden to administer for what is now a marginal income feature. We chose they allowed most users to stay at their currently level, but basically without needing to pay for the extras. Thus in the vast majority of cases, users are somewhere between better & much better off.

As mentioned in the blog post, yes, there are a few Full users who will be a bit worse off, basically those who purchased 1 virtual domain + <5 virtual aliases. For instance, 1 domain + 1 domain alias is $13.80 a year, while Full -> Enhanced is an additional $20 a year. So it's basically just over $6 a year extra for those small number of users, but you also get a LOT more in the enhanced account (email and file storage, transfer BW, etc, etc). We've already upgraded all those Full users affected to Enhanced for the remainder of their subscription for free. For the Full users whose subscription was coming up shortly, we've extended their subscription for a couple of months as well, so they're not hit with immediately paying for an Enhanced account.

We really believe that the net result is a vast improvement for most users, and for new users to reduce the overall complexity of signing up.

I've also reorganised the pricing table to try and organise it a bit better, and make the details avaiable more quickly.

http://www.fastmail.fm/pages/fastmai...ricingtbl.html

We've also increased Enhanced file storage to 1G, with 1G of BW per month as well, which I'll note on the blog as well. This will be useful with the new photo gallery feature when we release it fully shortly

Rob

ankupan · 7 Apr 2006, 09:50 PM

Is there any offer for member account holder ?

Ready to move.........

smallcheese · 7 Apr 2006, 10:13 PM

This is all great news for the majority I agree. How about the suggestion by one of the previous posters to include one virtual domain and a catch all * alias for those who it will not benefit? I'm grateful for all the advanced features which I'm getting in my temporary upgrade to the Enhanced service, but the fact is I chose the Full service and not the Enhanced one because it met my needs quite satisfactorily, and I don't have the need for masses of storage and bandwidth.

I'm trying not to sound like a real moaner here because it's really not the end of the world. I just think that any improvement change in services shouldn't leave anyone worse off in the long term, not matter how many it affects or how little the monetary diference is.

Tom

snsh · 7 Apr 2006, 11:39 PM

One thing makes me nervous is I know I'm going to end up managing many virtual domains for friends and family and clients. But if my account gets hacked into, then it's big trouble.

Heartz · 7 Apr 2006, 11:51 PM

WOW!

The only reason I was keeping my webhosting account was because FM didn't have a plan that supported multiple domains and was affordable!

Now I can have 1 account for all my domain and email needs.

Good Value FM. I'm gonna upgrade to an enhanced account and shut down my hosting account in July.

mikedk · 8 Apr 2006, 12:52 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by smallcheese
This is all great news for the majority I agree. How about the suggestion by one of the previous posters to include one virtual domain and a catch all * alias for those who it will not benefit? I'm grateful for all the advanced features which I'm getting in my temporary upgrade to the Enhanced service, but the fact is I chose the Full service and not the Enhanced one because it met my needs quite satisfactorily, and I don't have the need for masses of storage and bandwidth.

I'm trying not to sound like a real moaner here because it's really not the end of the world. I just think that any improvement change in services shouldn't leave anyone worse off in the long term, not matter how many it affects or how little the monetary diference is.

Tom

Throwing my own pennysworth in; I also have one virtual domain, and one named alias. I don't need anything like the capacity that goes with an Enhanced service either. The increase of $6 is really nothing to moan about but I feel I'm being forced into a service/situation which I would not have entered into if I was in the process of now looking for a provider to service my individual needs. There would have been no logic in me getting and paying for all the services and facilities on offer to the FM Enhanced user if I was not going to ever use them.

541 · 8 Apr 2006, 01:04 AM

Enhanced
* 30 regular aliases (5 chars or more)
* 3 short aliases (2-4 chars)
* 50 virtual domains
* 200 virtual domain aliases

All I can say is "Wow!". That's more than I will ever need, but it's nice that I should ever need that, I've got the resources to back it up.

I too bought an extra virtual domain before this, but considering what I just got from FastMail, I think I got the better end of the deal.

I feel less and less people are going to choose the "Full" package, which maybe by design. If you use your own domain, the "Full" package isn't for you. If you want to use one of FastMail's many domains, then it might be something to look at.

msulloway · 8 Apr 2006, 05:24 AM

Thanks for the new basic log-in screen. This will be less intimidating when to show novice users.

David · 8 Apr 2006, 07:09 AM

Will the maximum file size, that can be uploaded to the server for storage, be increased as well, now that the bandwidth limits for file storage have been increased?

hadaso · 8 Apr 2006, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by robmueller
... there are a few Full users who will be a bit worse off, basically those who purchased 1 virtual domain + <5 virtual aliases. For instance, 1 domain + 1 domain alias is $13.80 a year, while Full -> Enhanced is an additional $20 a year. So it's basically just over $6 a year extra for those small number of users, ...

Actually if renewing for more than one year the extra cost for each additional year is just $1.20. So FastMail might credit the few affected people's account pools by $6.20 or extend their subscription by four months which would cover the the extra cost of the first year, and for extra years the difference seems small enough... But then $6 difference is also not that much...

Quote:

Originally posted by robmueller
... I've also reorganised the pricing table to try and organise it a bit better, and make the details avaiable more quickly.

http://www.fastmail.fm/pages/fastmai...ricingtbl.html

It looks great, and I like the functionality of getting extra info by hovering over the links on the left, but I discovered that myself since I didn't really understand exactly what "Move over any of the links in the left column" really meant. Perhaps the words "Move over" sould be changed to something more meaningful...

Also, moving the mouse down over the next link doesn't work because before you reach it the text collapses and the link moves up. So perhaps it shouldn't collapse until another link is hovered over (or a certain time delay after the mouse moved out).

The entry "Advanced rules: No" for guest level seem funny. They are getting probably the most advanced filtering system you can get in a free email account. Perhaps this line should be changed to something like "Filtering rules: Basic/Advanced" (though "basic" is also an understatement.) Or just a separate line with: "Advanced rules: Yes Yes Yes Yes" and a separate line with "Sieve script: No Yes Yes Yes"

In "File storage quota" it says: "Guest and Member users get a small amount so they can test our the functionality". You may add something like "and host a 2-3 page low traffic personal site with little graphics" (or something similar in better English...). I actually served video from the file storage using 250kb during the beta testing period...

"Adressbook": each entry can list several email addresses/phone numbers/street addresses....

"Notepad": "We provide a basic noted ..." probably a typo.

hadaso · 8 Apr 2006, 08:57 AM

I see that the virtual aliases are now in a separate screen from the fastmail aliases (is this new or have I missed something?). I also see that each virtual alias has an "active" checkbox. Is this new? (or ahve I missed something...) Does it mean that if an alias is inactive then email to it would be rejected even if there's a catchall alias?

raddygast · 8 Apr 2006, 09:07 AM

so just to clarify or re-iterate (I was at work all day and couldn't read this thread) --- those Enhanced users who very recently paid for what they'll now get for free, won't get a partial reimbursement into their account pool?

I think this new policy is great; I just wish it had come one or two months later before I was dinged for $24.

hadaso · 8 Apr 2006, 09:22 AM

The discussion about people who paid for what they want and then found out that if they waited they cold have got the same for less is something we had several times before on other threads. If you paid for something you wanted then you got what you wanted for the right price. The same thing happens every day everywhere: prices go up and down. You don't get reimbursement on past purchases just because the prices went down (unless the seller made a commitment to reimburse you under certain conditions). Say FastMail decides to reimburse anyone who bought those things that are now included in the enhanced subscription during the past 30 days. What happens to those who paid 31 days ago? It's exactly the same issue! There's a price reduction that occured at a cerain point in time. whoever makes a decision to buy after that point in time bases the decision on the new prices. Whoever decided earlier based the decision on the prices that were available then, so the price was right, or the decision would have been not to buy!

rmns2bseen · 8 Apr 2006, 10:02 AM

Re: the changes to the Full account: No offense to anyone, but paying to host a virtual domain under the Full account was a big mistake anyway--and one I made too a long while back. I've since become a little wiser. Just own up to it, swallow your losses, and move on

7 Apr 2006, 09:42 PM	#16
snsh Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Boston Posts: 611	more subdomain fun http://ww.fastmail.fm

7 Apr 2006, 09:43 PM	#17
robmueller Intergalactic Postmaster Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 6,102 Representative of: Fastmail.FM	Sorry, meant to get in here earlier. I've posted to the blog. http://blog.fastmail.fm Basically we've done this because it was confusing a lot of new users, and also it was a large support burden to administer for what is now a marginal income feature. We chose they allowed most users to stay at their currently level, but basically without needing to pay for the extras. Thus in the vast majority of cases, users are somewhere between better & much better off. As mentioned in the blog post, yes, there are a few Full users who will be a bit worse off, basically those who purchased 1 virtual domain + <5 virtual aliases. For instance, 1 domain + 1 domain alias is $13.80 a year, while Full -> Enhanced is an additional $20 a year. So it's basically just over $6 a year extra for those small number of users, but you also get a LOT more in the enhanced account (email and file storage, transfer BW, etc, etc). We've already upgraded all those Full users affected to Enhanced for the remainder of their subscription for free. For the Full users whose subscription was coming up shortly, we've extended their subscription for a couple of months as well, so they're not hit with immediately paying for an Enhanced account. We really believe that the net result is a vast improvement for most users, and for new users to reduce the overall complexity of signing up. I've also reorganised the pricing table to try and organise it a bit better, and make the details avaiable more quickly. http://www.fastmail.fm/pages/fastmai...ricingtbl.html We've also increased Enhanced file storage to 1G, with 1G of BW per month as well, which I'll note on the blog as well. This will be useful with the new photo gallery feature when we release it fully shortly Rob

7 Apr 2006, 09:50 PM	#18
ankupan Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 812	Is there any offer for member account holder ? Ready to move.........

7 Apr 2006, 10:13 PM	#19
smallcheese Junior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 8	This is all great news for the majority I agree. How about the suggestion by one of the previous posters to include one virtual domain and a catch all * alias for those who it will not benefit? I'm grateful for all the advanced features which I'm getting in my temporary upgrade to the Enhanced service, but the fact is I chose the Full service and not the Enhanced one because it met my needs quite satisfactorily, and I don't have the need for masses of storage and bandwidth. I'm trying not to sound like a real moaner here because it's really not the end of the world. I just think that any improvement change in services shouldn't leave anyone worse off in the long term, not matter how many it affects or how little the monetary diference is. Tom

7 Apr 2006, 11:39 PM	#20
snsh Cornerstone of the Community Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Boston Posts: 611	One thing makes me nervous is I know I'm going to end up managing many virtual domains for friends and family and clients. But if my account gets hacked into, then it's big trouble.

7 Apr 2006, 11:51 PM	#21
Heartz Essential Contributor Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Selangor, Malaysia Posts: 460	WOW! The only reason I was keeping my webhosting account was because FM didn't have a plan that supported multiple domains and was affordable! Now I can have 1 account for all my domain and email needs. Good Value FM. I'm gonna upgrade to an enhanced account and shut down my hosting account in July.

8 Apr 2006, 01:04 AM	#23
541 Essential Contributor Join Date: Aug 2001 Posts: 277	Enhanced * 30 regular aliases (5 chars or more) * 3 short aliases (2-4 chars) * 50 virtual domains * 200 virtual domain aliases All I can say is "Wow!". That's more than I will ever need, but it's nice that I should ever need that, I've got the resources to back it up. I too bought an extra virtual domain before this, but considering what I just got from FastMail, I think I got the better end of the deal. I feel less and less people are going to choose the "Full" package, which maybe by design. If you use your own domain, the "Full" package isn't for you. If you want to use one of FastMail's many domains, then it might be something to look at.

8 Apr 2006, 05:24 AM	#24
msulloway Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 154	Thanks for the new basic log-in screen. This will be less intimidating when to show novice users.

8 Apr 2006, 07:09 AM	#25
David Ultimate Contributor Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Canada. Posts: 10,355	Will the maximum file size, that can be uploaded to the server for storage, be increased as well, now that the bandwidth limits for file storage have been increased?

8 Apr 2006, 08:57 AM	#27
hadaso The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Holon, Israel. Posts: 4,848	I see that the virtual aliases are now in a separate screen from the fastmail aliases (is this new or have I missed something?). I also see that each virtual alias has an "active" checkbox. Is this new? (or ahve I missed something...) Does it mean that if an alias is inactive then email to it would be rejected even if there's a catchall alias?

8 Apr 2006, 09:07 AM	#28
raddygast Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 99	so just to clarify or re-iterate (I was at work all day and couldn't read this thread) --- those Enhanced users who very recently paid for what they'll now get for free, won't get a partial reimbursement into their account pool? I think this new policy is great; I just wish it had come one or two months later before I was dinged for $24.

8 Apr 2006, 09:22 AM	#29
hadaso The "e" in e-mail Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Holon, Israel. Posts: 4,848	The discussion about people who paid for what they want and then found out that if they waited they cold have got the same for less is something we had several times before on other threads. If you paid for something you wanted then you got what you wanted for the right price. The same thing happens every day everywhere: prices go up and down. You don't get reimbursement on past purchases just because the prices went down (unless the seller made a commitment to reimburse you under certain conditions). Say FastMail decides to reimburse anyone who bought those things that are now included in the enhanced subscription during the past 30 days. What happens to those who paid 31 days ago? It's exactly the same issue! There's a price reduction that occured at a cerain point in time. whoever makes a decision to buy after that point in time bases the decision on the new prices. Whoever decided earlier based the decision on the prices that were available then, so the price was right, or the decision would have been not to buy!

8 Apr 2006, 10:02 AM	#30
rmns2bseen Master of the @ Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: USA Posts: 1,426	Re: the changes to the Full account: No offense to anyone, but paying to host a virtual domain under the Full account was a big mistake anyway--and one I made too a long while back. I've since become a little wiser. Just own up to it, swallow your losses, and move on