I hope SFS will provide an email service to replace openmailbox

4 replies [Last post]
freesoftware
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Joined: 02/16/2015

Hi All,

I hope that SFS will provide an email service, even it charges several dollars every month. If so, I will switch to it. I suppose most free software supporters will switch to it. And I guess SFS will get more money to promote free software.

Why not?

SuperTramp83

I am a translator!

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Joined: 10/31/2014

We would first need to know what is SFS..

NickThom
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Joined: 09/03/2017

FSF ?

And what happened with openmailbox was a shame. I was a user almost from day one, donating several times (I don't regret it, it was a good service) and suddenly, without any prior notice, it stopped working. They shifted gears from a free service to a paid one without any prior notice to thousands of users. They even changed the IMAP and POP services to subscribers only.

I don't know if FSF ever become an email provider, but for now you can join an email alias (acctualy five of them) just becoming a member. https://my.fsf.org

IrishUSA
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Joined: 12/03/2016

I don't begrudge OpenMailBox revenue, nor their moral right to shift to a pay model. I do think they should have provided some notice.

Are their calendar and contacts services able to be synced with apps such as Evolution? Can that data be shared and synchronized with other users?

strypey
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Joined: 05/14/2015

"I don't begrudge OpenMailBox revenue, nor their moral right to shift to a pay model."

That's not what's being criticized here. A freemium service is fine when those who pay get non-core functions needed by some people with plenty of money. I do think it's unethical to charge for the ability to export one's own data through POP or IMAP (vendor lock-in anyone?), especially when the original agreement they have with their users is a donation-funded service. It's a bait-and-switch business model which exploits users. Isn't that what software freedom is supposed to help us avoid?

"I do think they should have provided some notice."

A *lot* of notice. Giving people plenty of time to extract their data and migrate elsewhere before the change. To let the service stagnate in silence for months, then spring a new interface and user pays charges on users who joined them in good faith does little to convince me they're trustworthy hosts nor deserving of any cash from me.