said by dslextreme :

When you move, you have "new" DSL line under a new one year contract. That makes us eligible for "new" circuit pricing at which point we we can pass on the savings to you. I agree that the SBC wholesale pricing is very skewed in this regard and we are trying to convince SBC to change their policy.

said by blacksurfer :

Hang in there guys! DSLextreme has been good to us and a great alternative to SBC. To make up for the difference in price, just refer more people and earn some credits! I just wish they could make a link that our referral could click on that will automatically enter our ID for credit. I've lost many referral credits because they couldn't follow instructions on entering my user name.

said by wth2:

Why is it, that if I were to change addresses, I would all of a sudden be eligible for the newly lowered prices when I am still under a CONTRACT!!???

said by mkrueger :

...it should be super-easy for more technically adept clients who aren't spamming to get the port opened. I happen to own my own email server which many of my friends and family use. I vastly prefer DSL Extreme's simple approach of a form on their website to get unblocked, vs. just getting surprise blocking with no recourse.
...SBC doesn't give me that option, and just assumes their customers are criminals, I guess.

06/09/05 13:41:17 dns aosake.net
Mail for aosake.net is handled by aosake.net
Canonical name: aosake.net
Addresses:
  66.125.89.41

06/09/05 13:42:24 Dns 66.125.89.41
nslookup 66.125.89.41
Canonical name: adsl-66-125-89-41.dsl.sntc01.pacbell.net
Addresses:
  66.125.89.41

said by NormanS Spam is a royal pain. SBC could not seem to get an adequate handle on all of their customers with spam 'bots running on their computers; not that the customers knew that the 'bots were there. Until SBC put the block on port 25 I routinely got spam from SBC customer computers which had no business being used for commercial advertisements. Since SBC implemented the blocks, spam from Trojanized customer computers has dropped significantly.

I have no trouble accessing non-SBC SMTP servers, and port 25 is still blocked on my account. It was easier, quicker, to configure my email clients to use port 465 (MyRealBox), or port 587 (GMail and GMX Mail).
[/BQUOTE:

I actually agree. Spam SUCKS, and if the blocking helps, then it is good.

However, it should be super-easy for more technically adept clients who aren't spamming to get the port opened. I happen to own my own email server which many of my friends and family use. I vastly prefer DSL Extreme's simple approach of a form on their website to get unblocked, vs. just getting surprise blocking with no recourse.

Also, when I tried to call SBC about the email issue, the support person had no idea about why my family could suddenly not send email through my server. Sure would be nice if the phone support even at "level 1" had a basic understanding of changes to service. A response like "oh, we started blocking port 25" would have been nice, vs. me having to figure it out for myself.

My server supports alternate ports, so I just switched my family over. But I did have to reconfigure email on 5 machines, after driving out to their house to troubleshoot. Clicking the button on DSL Extreme's website to unblock sure would have been easier on me. SBC doesn't give me that option, and just assumes their customers are criminals, I guess.

said by d_l :

SBCIS apparently didn't offer the Oct. 19, 2004 through Jan. 31, 2005 promotion to their customers