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As long as we leave our wallets on our desks, no problem. 
Summary of private responses:
- Use LDAP
- Use regexp and kill, kill, kill
- Send me your data!
All very good suggestions, but I thought of that and I have a variety
of issues that limit me to my existing environment and do not allow
fast and easy deployment of enhancements. One being I'm tied into a
big OSS.
Over this year I've expended significant amounts of time and energy on
a problem that is created by people that are exploiting the Internet
for profit which the vast majority is either fraud or identity theft
oriented. Mail is a huge expense and sending it the way of usenet,
outsourced en-masse using cheap and fast OEM interfaces and services,
is the right thing to do.
After researching the outsourced mail options, I found that the market
is not mature or flexible enough yet. For example, we need the hook
into automated systems, we need some level of control for front line
support, and we need assurances that the provider will comply with the
laws of where *the subscribing network* may be regulated. Not another
country. If we get a subpoena or surveillance request, we need to be
in the loop since we (and you all) are regulated.
Google was my best hope and it was too bad they barely responded. The
application suite for ISP's might have been ok if it were tuned up a
little, or had more information and a real person running the program.
They seem to have the right idea. Throw massive reasons at the
problem, build user base, generate ad revenue to pay for it, and sell
services to others i.e. anti-fraud and anti-phishing.
Best,
Martin
After researching the outsourced mail options, I found that the market
is not mature or flexible enough yet. For example, we need the hook
into automated systems, we need some level of control for front line
support,
AT&T, Verizon, BT and so on have outsourced most of their subscriber
email to other vendors (MSN and Yahoo) for years. I think they are
the poster-children for companies with big, unwieldy OSSes. Likewise Critical Path has made a decent business supporting white label e-mail for many ISPs around the world.
I've saw the duct tape from the inside and the outside. It ain't
pretty, but they seem to make it work.
and we need assurances that the provider will comply with the
laws of where *the subscribing network* may be regulated. Not another
country. If we get a subpoena or surveillance request, we need to be
in the loop since we (and you all) are regulated.
Of course, you could outsource your legal support to trusted third
party vendors too For only a small fee, they will solve all
the problems.
Google was my best hope and it was too bad they barely responded. The
application suite for ISP's might have been ok if it were tuned up a
little, or had more information and a real person running the program.
They seem to have the right idea. Throw massive reasons at the
problem, build user base, generate ad revenue to pay for it, and sell
services to others i.e. anti-fraud and anti-phishing.
Why should ISPs still pay to support subscriber e-mail either inhouse
or outsourced, any more than paying to support USENET, Chat, FTP/HTTP Hosting, etc? Let subscribers choose whichever "free" or "fee-based" supplier, and wash your hands of both the support issues and the legal compliance issues.
Why should ISPs still pay to support subscriber e-mail either inhouse
or outsourced, any more than paying to support USENET, Chat, FTP/HTTP Hosting, etc? Let subscribers choose whichever "free" or "fee-based" supplier, and wash your hands of both the support issues and the legal compliance issues.
For better or worse, whatever hoops you can make a customer have to jump through to leave may keep them your customer 'by force'. Its hard to change your email address and notify everyone on your address book and the sites you may have used it to sign up with. It may not be right, but it does seem to work.
Also, having your domain on that customers email address is low cost advertising.
sam