ISP RULES: CUTTING THROUGH THE CONFUSION | Home Networking Annoyances: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things about Your Home Network

LEARN WHETHER MULTIPLE ACCESS IS PERMITTED

The Annoyance:

I can't find anything on my ISP's web site that says I can have multiple users signed in at the same time. They don't address the issue at all.

The Fix:

Except for AOL, you can almost certainly take it for granted that you can share your Internet connection. All of the ISPs I'm familiar with (except, as I've said, AOL) permit multiple users to have simultaneous access. (See the AOL annoyances later in this chapter.)

JUST CALL AND ASK!

Many people are reluctant to call their ISP support lines to inquire about multiple access permissions. They feel they're alerting the ISP to the fact that they plan to share their Internet connection, and if the ISP doesn't permit multiple simultaneous access, or charges extra fees, their account will be "watched." It doesn't work that way. The technology at the ISP either blocks access if more than one person logs in to an account, or it doesn't. No human being can "set" or "block" multiple access on a particular account.

MAILBOXES ARE SINGLE-USER ACCESS POINTS

The Annoyance:

Sometimes I get an error message about the mailbox being in use when I try to collect my email. This happens only if somebody else on our network is on the Internet at the same time. I can use my browser, but I can't get my mail.

The Fix:

You need to get your own mailbox because obviously you and the other person online are using the same mailbox. The only "multiple-user block" ISPs enforce is on a particular mailbox. If someone is getting email from the mailbox assigned to Amy@MyISP.com, nobody else can be in that mailbox at the same time.

Tip: Some people set up family mailboxes so everyone gets email at one address, such as Myfamily@MyISP.com. Family mailboxes are not a good ideathey're inefficient (distributing the mail among computers is almost impossible, so you have to print messages and hand-deliver them) and they eliminate any chance of privacy. Once you move to a network and a shared Internet connection, family mailboxes are a pain! Your ISP should have a mailbox management web page you can use to set up each user's individual mailbox.

ADDING MAILBOXES

The Annoyance:

Our ISP permits three mailboxes with our account, but we have four family users who want mailboxes. I can't figure out how to let two people share a mailbox, surf the Internet, and get their mail all at the same time.

The Fix:

It can't be done, so give it up. Go to your ISP's web site and check the fee schedule for an additional mailbox. I bet you'll find it costs less than you thought.

Your Priorities Are More Important than Your ISP

If your ISP doesn't permit shared simultaneous logins, change your ISPeven if you have to spend a few extra dollars per month. Use your single Internet connection to travel the web sites of other ISPs, find a support telephone number, and ask about multiple-user access. Then sign up! Within a day, everyone can be on the Internet at the same time.

CHANGING YOUR ISP MEANS CHANGING YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS

The Annoyance:

We're changing our ISP so that we can share our Internet connection. Of course, the email address for our old ISP won't work anymore. How do we let people know our new address in an efficient way, so we still get our email?

The Fix:

If you don't have your own web site (which gives you an email address that never changes, no matter who your ISP is), you're going to have to change your email address when you change your ISP. This is a pain! Some people have done this numerous times, and it never gets easier. However, it must be done.

The big problem is that once your old ISP is canceled and your mailbox is closed, anyone sending email to that mailbox receives a "bounce" message that says the mailbox doesn't exist or the recipient doesn't exist. Bounced mail provides no information about how to find you now that you've moved. Here are some guidelines to help you make this less confusing for your correspondents:

Sign up with your new ISP and create all the mailboxes you need before you cancel your old ISP.
Delay canceling your old ISP for at least a month-two months is better. You'll be spending money on two ISP services for that period, but consider that money well spent in pursuit of an easy transition and no lost email.
Send a message to every email correspondent of your new email address.
Warning: Some ISPs limit the number of recipients in a single message as a way to make sure nobody uses it for spam. You might have to email several small groups of recipients.
Use the Signature feature in your email software to create a message saying that the recipient should change his records to reflect your new email address. Add the signature to every message you send.
See if your current (old) ISP will forward email that arrives in your previous mailbox. Some ISPs are generous enough to provide this service.

Tip: When you send your new email address to your email correspondents, always use the new email address for those messages. Nothing is more annoying than getting email from MyName@AOL.com telling you that his new email address is MyName@MYNewISP.com. It's confusing. Also, many email software applications have a feature that automatically creates an address book entry for the sender's email address. You want that email address to be your new one, not your old one.

NETIQUETTE FOR SENDING MESSAGES TO MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS

Internet etiquette (often called netiquette) has standards for sending email to more than one person at a time. When you send email to multiple recipients and it's not the equivalent of a conference call, don't insert each person's email address in the To: field of the message form. Instead, email the message to yourself, and put the recipients into the Blind Carbon Copy (Bcc:) field. That way, your recipients don't see other people's email addresses.ISP annoyances

Email addresses are like unlisted telephone numbers; they're private. It's rude and an invasion of privacy to send out email in which recipients are permitted to see other people's email addresses. Some people equate this with scrawling unlisted telephone numbers on a bathroom wall. Besides, it's really annoying to have to scroll through all those names to get to the message text.