Disclaimer: I, like Robbie, also no longer work for MindSpring.
It is perfectly reasonable to not notify every customer about something like this, because of the insignificant percentage of people who used the functionality in the first place.
I do not know for sure, but I would assume that documentation was on the news section of the web page at some point or another. And it's not unethical, because they did not lie to you about it. I am sure that you were never promised that you would be able to pass through port 25 int he first place, when you signed up for your account.
And the increase in the support traffic is, indeed, a valid reason for not proactively notifying customers, because as a public company, they are responsible for more than their own wallets. They are now responsible for the state of the wallets of all of their stockholders.
I remember from way, way back, when I first joined the company as an employee in 1995, being very impressed with the Core Values and Beliefs. They were the things the company was founded upon, and each employee was required to use them as guidelines when interacting with customers, as well as other employees.
I believe that they have forgotten, or maybe outgrown some of them, but CV&B #5 still holds true: We will preserve and protect our company's resources with at least the same vigilance with which we protect our own personal resources.
And that was from before they were a public company, with less than 2000 customers. With the number of customers they have currently, imagine the resources that would be necessary to stay above the tide of calls and emails flooding the service folks, if you sent information to all of them, which would be pertinent to less than a percent.
Ben
P.S.: I'm sure the Engineering department is cool, too. Except for Todd.;^)
... with Flourescent lights is when I am also at a computer screen, and haven't given my eyes a rest at all in the last four or five hours. I do not get a headache, however, I simply get dizzy, and feel like I'm falling out of my chair. After that passes, I will generally get up and walk about some, and then I'm good to go for another short session.
This doesn't seem to happen if I do not have flourescent lights on and am at the terminal, or if I am doing something else in a room with flourescent lights. 'Tis only the two in combination.
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Bambi vs. Godzilla?
It is perfectly reasonable to not notify every customer about something like this, because of the insignificant percentage of people who used the functionality in the first place.
I do not know for sure, but I would assume that documentation was on the news section of the web page at some point or another. And it's not unethical, because they did not lie to you about it. I am sure that you were never promised that you would be able to pass through port 25 int he first place, when you signed up for your account.
And the increase in the support traffic is, indeed, a valid reason for not proactively notifying customers, because as a public company, they are responsible for more than their own wallets. They are now responsible for the state of the wallets of all of their stockholders.
I remember from way, way back, when I first joined the company as an employee in 1995, being very impressed with the Core Values and Beliefs. They were the things the company was founded upon, and each employee was required to use them as guidelines when interacting with customers, as well as other employees.
I believe that they have forgotten, or maybe outgrown some of them, but CV&B #5 still holds true: We will preserve and protect our company's resources with at least the same vigilance with which we protect our own personal resources.
And that was from before they were a public company, with less than 2000 customers. With the number of customers they have currently, imagine the resources that would be necessary to stay above the tide of calls and emails flooding the service folks, if you sent information to all of them, which would be pertinent to less than a percent.
Ben
P.S.: I'm sure the Engineering department is cool, too. Except for Todd. ;^)
... with Flourescent lights is when I am also at a computer screen, and haven't given my eyes a rest at all in the last four or five hours. I do not get a headache, however, I simply get dizzy, and feel like I'm falling out of my chair. After that passes, I will generally get up and walk about some, and then I'm good to go for another short session.
This doesn't seem to happen if I do not have flourescent lights on and am at the terminal, or if I am doing something else in a room with flourescent lights. 'Tis only the two in combination.
Cheers!