Eegads! We can’t believe it took us so long to find this gem.
A March 21 article on TechNewsWorld.com outlining some of arguments against AOL’s implementation of Goodmail’s CertifiedEmail program quotes a representative of a heating and plumbing association:
“Another coalition member, David Heimer, COO of the Service Roundtable in Grapevine, Texas, was skeptical about the voluntary aspects of the new program.
“‘They say, you don't have to join this, but your e-mail might or might not get through, but if you do pay us, you'll know that your e-mail got through,’ he told TechNewsWorld.
‘If you're a business and you rely on e-mail, what would be your response to that? They're sort of twisting my arm, aren’t they?’
“He also argued that the program will affect consumers more than its proponents are willing to admit. ‘Who do you think is going to ultimately pay for this?’ he asked rhetorically. ‘If I have to pay somebody to deliver my mail, how am I going to cover that cost? I'm going to have to pass that cost on to my customers.’”
Uh, yeah. Imagine that. An organization paying another organization for services rendered and then deciding whether it should pass along the costs of doing business to its customers. Just what the hell kind of country is this anyway?!
David “everything-should-be-free-but-plumbing-and-heating” Heimer reportedly testified against AOL’s scheme April 3 at a California Senate committee hearing held by state Sen. Dean Florez, a Democrat who chairs the state Senate Select Committee on E-Commerce, Wireless Technology and Consumer Driven Programming.
Turns out the Service Roundtable is 100% Internet based, which, for all of you readers in the Utah and Michigan legislatures who have difficulty understanding Internet-related issues, means if e-mail begins to cost money, the Service Roundtable may have to charge members higher dues.
Funny how often the protests against Goodmail translate into some group getting upset over the idea that it can’t slam the crap out of AOL’s servers and be guaranteed to get their e-mail delivered free.
