FAQ: Email Services

> What does NetBox email provide?

NetBox gives you the security and anonymity of a post office box for your electronic messages:

Like a P.O. Box, NetBox protects your identity. Your mail routed through NetBox will appear to the recipient as if it came from within NetBox — separating your e-mail address from your provider.

NetBox improves the confidentiality of your personal e-mail:

NetBox allows you to separate your e-mail into appropriate categories: personal vs. professional; confidential vs. public.

NetBox allows you to put electronic correspondence on hold for days or weeks:

Like a regular post office box, NetBox will hold your mail until you request it. You can also easily forward your mail to any address (or addresses) you may use.

NetBox gives you e-mail that address won't change, even if you change how you connect to the Internet in the future:

NetBox is a provider-independent anchor in the Internet; Mail sent to a NetBox address is routed to any new service or system the user chooses. Changing providers doesn't interrupt electronic correspondence.

NetBox provides those already connected to the Internet a safe, private, convenient and permanent address for electronic mail:

NetBox is not a full service Internet Access provider. NetBox is not an anonymous base for Internet abuse. All normal "rules of the I-ways" apply to NetBox users. For more information, please read the NetBox Acceptable Use Policy, which is available by sending a message to P_O_Master@NetBox.com with "Send AUP" as the subject or go to the NetBox web page (http://www.NetBox.com/).

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> How does NetBox Work?

A NetBox account is an Internet address on a dedicated mail server. Mail addressed to you@netbox.com is routed to one or more addresses according to your instructions. When you write mail, you can send it through you@NetBox.com to ensure all mail gets properly routed to you.

Incoming Mail:

When e-mail arrives at your NetBox, how it is handled is determined by how you configured your NetBox. The options are:

REMAILED TO A CONVENIENT ADDRESS — By default, incoming mail will be automatically rerouted to your current home address. Your NetBox can be configured to direct messages to as many as three predefined delivery points.

HOLD UNTIL CALLED FOR — When you set your NetBox to save, it will hold your mail until it is picked up. The first 3 MB of storage space is included in the base NetBox services — if more space is used, a small charge will be assessed based on the average use over the billing period [larger capacities available for special projects; contact sales@netbox.com for more information].

PROCESS THE MAIL AT NETBOX — With your NetBox set to the save mode, you have the option of using NetBox' Pine mailer in a telnet session. To take advantage of this option, you need to be able to telnet to NetBox.

Outgoing Mail:

Posting mail through your NetBox allows you to take advantage of NetBox' mail handling features. These messages arrive so that replies are automatically addressed to your NetBox. Sending e-mail through your NetBox requires only the addition of one line per message.

Your message is addressed to your NetBox with the recipients' address on the first line of your message. NetBox will extract the delivery information, change the message TO and FROM lines, and deliver it. The message appears to the recipient as originating from your NetBox. When the message is replied to, it is automatically
addressed to your NetBox account.

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> What is POP3 and how does it work?

POP stands for post office protocol. It is the protocol used by mailers like Eudora, Pegasus, Netscape 2.0 mail, and others. When you use these mailers you enter into the configuration or setting file the following information:

The name of server where your mail is staying. This is either, netbox.com if you have an account with us, or your current ISP. The login or account name you have on that server is either, your NetBox account name or your account name with your ISP. The password is on that server. You will be prompted for it.

Once you are connected to the net you are a node on the net. That is, once you have called your ISP or made a connection from your company the connection {called TCP/IP} makes you a temporary or permanent node. NetBox.com is a permanent node [as we are connected to the net 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, hopefully].

As a node on the net you may use any software that runs on the net. Eudora, Pegasus... the pop mailers are TCP/IP software programs. When you use these programs they attempt to make a connection to the server that you specified [name of server where your mail is] and the server checks if you have permission to get mail [checks your password and login name]. If you have a pop account on the server the software will pick up your mail, move it to your desktop, and delete it from our server.

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> Can I have multiple email names and accounts?

There are two issues here, account/login names and aliases. login/account names are limited to 8 characters and are real accounts with all the functionality of an account. NetBox runs a Unix server. One can login and change your configuration, meaning redirection or forwarding addresses. You can telnet in. Your account gets access to our proprietary Real-To: header replacement technology. Send faxes, UP postal mail, etc. That is, all the benefits and features you see in our faq and service explanation.

The price list refers to this real account. Each real account is priced separately.

Aliases are extra names that we associate with an account. For example my real account name is 'jwgray' and most of the mail I receive is at jwgray@netbox.com However, if I wanted I could also have an alias Jeff_Gray@netbox.com Then, all mail that arrived at NetBoxn addressed to Jeff_Gray would be sent to the real account 'jwgray' and forwarded or site there for pick up by POP or whatever.

Aliases are not real accounts. One cannot login as an alias. One cannot use our Real-To: technology with it. Aliases are names for receipt of mail. There is no practical limit to the number of aliases you may have. Each alias carries a one time $10 set up fee. There are no ongoing charges after that.

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> Email to Fax service Set-up

NetBox has combined the convenience of email with a cost effective fax service which can deliver messages worldwide. For as little as 12 cents per minute you can send the same email message going to all your friends without computers. All they need is a fax machine.

There are some limitations to the technology, however. Current technology is reliable for faxes sent to fax machines. A fax sent to a fax/modem card on a computer is much less reliable and can cause a transmission rate of about 70% [meaning that 30% of the tries may not go through with this type of connection].

Price. There is a $25 minimum initial deposit. Fax delivery costs will be charged against this deposit as incurred. You will receive a warning when your balance falls below $10, at which time you will need to refresh your deposit. Cost per fax is determined by the transmission time. There is a minimum charge of 30 seconds with time billed in increments of six seconds after the first thirty seconds.

See Fax Rates for a complete list of charges per minute of transmission time to specific countries.

At this time we do not offer trials except to our paid up NetBox users. To use the NetBox email to fax service you must have a NetBox account. This permits our database to deal with the deposits. In the near future we will put up a service which allows non-NetBox clients to use this service by entry of a credit card through our secure server.

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> Email to Post Service

NetBox's Email to US Post service works much the same as way our Email to Fax service. You prepare your letter in your mailer, send it to your NetBox with additional instructions in the body of the message, and NetBox will redirect it to the U.S. mail. Once you have registered for the service, you can also send postal messages from the NetBox Customer's section of the NetBox web site.

One difference between our fax and post services is the need to use a template for Email to Post. This template, which is available from an auto responder, contains fields for addresses to ensure proper placement on the letter. When the message reaches the NetBox server, the server extracts the to and from addresses, prints the message in 10 point Times-Roman font on a standard letter size [8.5" x 11"] page which is then inserted into a #10 double glassine envelope [larger envelopes will be used for larger documents]. Proper first class postage is affixed to the envelope which is then handed over to the U.S. Postal Service.

You will receive a note confirming your message has been mailed. Unless you chose return receipt service, no other notification will be sent. For our standard service, this is the extent of the liability of NetBox Inc. We do not supply proof of nor can we guarantee delivery by the U.S. Postal Service. Return receipts are available through our special handling services at additional cost.

Documents will be mailed as received. At this time we can accept ASCII or ISO/Latin1 text only — at this time we cannot handle word processor files or graphics. Text will be printed in 10 point times roman font on U.S. standard letter paper [8.5" x 11"].

Price: There is a $25 minimum initial deposit. Postal delivery costs will be charged against this deposit as incurred. You will receive a warning when your balance falls below $10, at which time you will need to refresh your deposit. Cost is determined by the length of the letter and the type of delivery notification desired:

Standard Service, No Return Receipt:

Delivered Within USA	$1/page
Delivered Outside USA	$2/page

Special Handling, Return Receipt Service:

Delivered Within USA	$60/15 page document
Each additional page	$2/page
Delivered Outside USA	$100/15 page document
Each additional page	$2/page

Special Handling. For special handling, send the completed form to P_O_Master@netbox.com and explain needs.

To use the service, after you have a NetBox account and have established a deposit you may get the form from nbpost_form@netbox.com. This is an auto responder and will send back the form you need to fill out. Or, go to our web site, in the Customer Home Page section, and use the form posted for your account.

Here is an overview of the service:

1.0 User Side

User gets a form from nbpost_form@netbox.com Please note, when this form is requested our database checks to see if it is coming from your NetBox account. If it is, the form is returned. If not, no form is returned. POP users generally can get the form successfully by using their NetBox address as the reply to address.

• Telnet users can get the form by sending, from within Pine, for the form. The check is made automatically.
  
• Basic service users can get the form by sending an email using the Real-To: method. Address the email to yourself, from your registered address. On the first line enter Real-To: nbpost_form@netbox.com
  
• The form is also available in the customer section of our website. Users may send post directly from this location.

2.0 NetBox side

Receives the completed form, processes it and mails it as per section 3.

3.0 Service Explanation, Terms and Conditions

Upon receipt of a completed NetBox to post form, received from a valid paid NetBox(tm) account, we will:

3.1 Strip the headers and explanatory material from the message and print it out using a standard non-proportional (Times-Roman) 10 point font. It will be printed on A4 paper, 8.5 inches by 11 inches. No reformatting will occur.

3.2 Put it in a double glassine windowed envelope, add appropriate postage and mail the envelope using US Postal Mail. If the document is too large to fit in a windowed envelope we will use a suitable mailer.

3.3 Not send a confirming e-mail note to you. There will be NO OTHER PROOF of delivery unless you chose return receipt service.

3.4 Return receipt service is available; it is considerably more expensive. Please be sure to check the price of this service before using the return receipt option. We will mail, using US Postal mail the return receipt copy we receive from the courier service. The courier service will be Federal Express or DHL unless they do not cover that country, in which case we will use US Postal Mail service.

3.5 By using this service YOU AGREE that you will not hold NetBox Inc. liable in any way for any part of the delivery of mail or its service. In no case will we agree to, or are able to, offer any sort of proof of service, proof that we mailed the document, proof that the document was received.

3.6 Documents will be mailed as received. Text only. No MIME encoded messages or files. (Formally, Ascii or ISO/Latin1)

3.7 Use of this service commits you to the pricing and billing terms as explained on our price list.

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