Please note that the text of this page was last updated on 14 October 1996; the contents of this page is being preserved as-is for posterity. The only changes made since that time were (a) to update the page markup to current XHTML standards, and (b) to obscure email addresses located throughout these pages (except for USENET postings). Needless to say, many of the links to external sites are no longer functional after 13+ years.

Path: visi.com!iaxs.net!winternet.com!not-for-mail
From: cbj@winternet.com (Chris Johns)
Newsgroups: winternet.gripes
Subject: Incoming mailbox deleted
Date: 13 Aug 1996 03:31:58 GMT
Organization: StarNet Communications, Inc
Lines: 22
Message-ID: <4uosve$rj7@blackice.winternet.com>
NNTP-Posting-Host: parka.winternet.com
X-Newsreader: TIN [UNIX 1.3 950824BETA PL0]

Just a brief heads-up on my recent experiences with email at Winternet.
Having been too busy at work to make much use of my Winternet account for
the past two weeks, I just logged in at the weekend to discover that my
35+ messages in /usr/mail/cbj (my incoming mailbox) that I knew were
there had vanished without a trace.   No explanation; nothing.

A phone call to the Winternet office this morning was answered promptly
and I was put through to "Heather" after a few minutes.
I explained the situation and have now allowed them 12 hours to get my
mailbox back from tape (assuming they still have it...). I note that
my email still doesn't exist (or it's empty, due to usage of 'elm').
I wait with bated breath for the outcome of this situation.  (Actually,
my breath isn't *that* bated - if it was, I'd have suffocated by now).

Well, given how poor the level of service has become, it won't be
long before we're all with other ISPs, most of whom will be able to
manage simple administrative functions, like backups, without losing
or snooping in files.

-------------

Chris Johns (an increasingly-dissatisfied Winternet customer)