Date: Mon, 7 Sep 92 05:42 GMT
From: Tansin A. Darcos & Company <0005066432@mcimail.com>
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Question on How to Get Internet Domain Access
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 688, Message 6 of 13

I don't have the kind of access to Internet that allows me to find out
where to find this out, so I'll ask it here.

I'd like to find out two things, which I've heard can be done, the
problem is in finding them: 

1.  I have heard there are some sites that will register a domain(s)
on Internet for anyone who needs DNS; does anyone know who that is or
where to write? (I have MCI Mail which means I have mail access only
to Internet; I do not have Telnet or News Group access.  I need to
know either the address to post a message to, or the place to ask.)

2.  Does someone know of a low-cost access to send mail into and
receive mail from Internet marked with user addresses within a domain
name that one registers with the Internet Network Information Center?
UUNET Technology of Falls Church, VA wants $30 a month plus $3 an
hour; Digital Express of Greenbelt, MD, will provide internet access
for $15 a month with 1 hour a day free and $1 for each additional
hour; this would be {perfect} except that for them to add a domain
they want at least 50 accounts on that domain!

All I want is some place to handle taking some messages from BBS
users, the way Fidonet does.  (I don't want to use the "fidonet.org"
domain as I am trying to arrange something for people who are not on
Fidonet sites.)

I'd like to find a way to do something for around $10 a month against
$1 an hour or so, that will simply "dump" any mail sent to the
domain(s) I use (if I have to purchase a separate account for each
domain that's acceptable). I'm trying to do this on a shoestring
budget.  It's for transfer of some newsgroups and mail that are
running on some non-internet networks, to allow their newsgroups to
migrate into internet and allow Internet mail (and possibly Internet
news groups) to migrate down to them.  The networks are running on
ordinary computer BBSs run by individuals. If the cost is low enough,
I can foot the bill out of my own pocket as my attempt to contribute
to something I get a lot of enjoyment out of.  If the cost is higher,
then I'll have to find out if the sysops who run these boards want to
participate.

Something in me says I should try to find out if the sysops who are
providing this service to users are willing to foot the bill for this
(or get the users themselves to pay for it.)  I probably will do that,
but what I'd like to do is find out what the best cost I can get for
this service is.  (BBS users are notoriously cheap and it's very hard
to get them to pay much, if anything.)  If it's low enough, I can
"salami slice" the charges out to the individual BBSs that want it,
(or if it's low enough, to all of them) and they don't have to pay a
tremendous amount for this capability.

The point is that trying to explain to someone who has never been
online the benefits involved in it is difficult.  To explain to people
who use non-networked BBSs the benefits of networking is difficult.
To explain to people on networks the advantages of being part of
Internet is also difficult.  (I am currently taking the APL ('A
Programming Language') news list which is sent to me as Internet mail,
so that a local BBS which is related to APL can take this material;
the sysop never realized that when he had some books about APL to sell
for those who'd want them, that he could have me post a message on the
Internet APL news list.  (I had to suggest it to him, and several
people on the list were very interested.)  Until you see the internet
as a resource, you can't know the value of having it.)

I also have to include in whatever it "costs" to get this, the costs
to get to the material.  If I can get free access to Internet to use a
domain name, but I've got to call a site in Alaska, (I'm currently in
the Washington, DC area) that's not much help.

I will appreciate any information that anyone here can pass on to me.


Paul Robinson:  TDARCOS@MCIMAIL.COM  or 0005066432@MCIMAIL.COM