EMFA: T1I - Universal E-Mail - May 5-6

["E-Mail for All" <emfa@publicus.net>]

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Universal E-Mail 
----------------

The primary theme for Tuesday, May 5 and Wednesday, May 6,
1998.

More people exchange e-mail every day. While achieving
ubiquitous telephone service in the U.S. and around the world
remains a significant challenge, e-mail is emerging as a
universal communications tool among increasing segments of
the world population.

The "Universal E-mail" theme addresses e-mail access and the
ubiquitous use of e-mail. Use the following questions as
guide for the conversation. Send in additional questions via
our comment form.

1. How many people have an e-mail address in the U.S.? In
other countries? Do they use e-mail from home or work? Which 
geographic areas have the most e-mail addresses per capita in 
the world? What is the rate of growth in e-mail users and 
message volume? 

2. What can we learn from providers of e-mail accounts about
broadening access to e-mail? What are the important lessons? 
What are the known benefits? Where are most of the real 
costs? Broadly, what is your vision of the future of 
e-mail? 

3. Should there be a public policy goal of universal e-mail     
(i.e. an e-mail address for everyone and the means to 
access it)? Has any governmental body considered this? 
Should e-mail access from homes or a nearby public 
location (see next theme regarding Universal Internet) be 
guaranteed? 

4. If the "market" brings sixty-five percent of individuals
and most businesses online by 2005, what should be done now to 
build a more universal, effective and efficient e-mail 
infrastructure? Should there be unified "white page" 
directories? Will there be "unlisted" options? Privacy 
protections? As people change providers, how portable 
will their e-mail addresses be? What kind of "universal 
e-mail" system do we want/expect from the competitive 
marketplace? What, if anything, should be done to fill in 
the "gaps?" 

*
*  Response and Comments Instructions
*
*  Send your general theme comments or specific question 
*  responses to:  emfa@publicus.net   
*  Use the subject lines:  T1 General Comments  OR T1Q# Response  
*  (# = question number)  Please send separate messages if you 
*  decide to respond directly to multiple questions.
*
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*  information if available:
*
*  Name
*  Title/Organization
*  E-Mail Address
*  Web Address
*  Location/Country
*



Visit the web page for the active links below:

     http://www.iaginteractive.com/emfa/theme1.htm


Articles and Reports 

* UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO E-MAIL - Feasibility and Societal
  Implications - The RAND report from 1995. (Funding provided
  by the Markle Foundation. The seeds for the current outreach
  effort. Here is an abstract.)
* Universal Access to E-mail: RAND, Bellcore and a National
  Debate - Markle Foundation overview article.
* How to do just about anything by E-mail - by G.E. Boyd.
* How to Complain About Spam, or, Put a Spammer in the Slammer
  - by Phil Agre.
* Internet Messaging Primer - From Eudora (second link in
  PDF).
* Results from questionnaire on the future of e-mail -
  Technical.
* E-MATH - Guide to E-mail Based Volunteer Programs - Use of
  e-mail for mentoring.


News Stories

* Studies Explore Possibilities of E-mail for Everyone - New
  York Times - Cybertimes.
* Take Control of Email (Before It Controls You) - Jesse
  Berst's ZDNet AnchorDesk.
* Compaq planning PC-TV convergence box - CNet News.Com.
* Survey warns of spam in U.K. - CNet News.Com.
* Article on new Netscape messaging server - PC Week -
  mentions "universal in-box."
* Information Week Survey: E-mail Ads Effective -
  internetnews.com.
* Wired News - News archive search for "e-mail".
* The Internet Newsletter - Legal news stories about e-mail.


Online Resources

* Everything E-Mail - Extensive information for e-mail users.
* Guide to email - Mining Company - A similar service.
* E-mail Freebies - Directory of free e-mail services.
* Yahoo! - Electronic Mail - Always a good place to search.
* ZDNet - MailUser - Services and products.
* E-mail Web Resource Index - Technical details galore.
* Internet Mail Consortium - Internet mail standards and
  vendors.
* Electronic Messaging Association - Commercial users and
  vendors, includes Messaging magazine.
* IMAP Connection - Internet Message Access Protocol
  information.
* Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial Email - Anti-Spam
  Effort.
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