WUGs and Internet connectivity

[portcullis]

I've got a quick question.

All the WUGs that I know of (Jhb, Pta and CTN) make it very clear that they are not in the business of internet service provision and that their networks only provide connections between members.

However, when a member has an email address @ the WUG and he or she uses that email address to send and receive messages to addresses through the WUG that are not WUG addresses (for example sending email from a WUG address to a gmail address), would that not be considered as the WUG providing internet connections?

I'm not having a go at anyone, nor am I attacking any WUG. I simply want to know how this ties in with the WUGs' policies of not providing connectivity to the outside world.

 

[snobee]

If a wug member has a wug domain name, it could quite easily be hosted on a server anywhere in the world. So the email server hosting that email account could have nothing to do with the physical wug network. The user would have to use an ISP to access his/her email on that server.
On the other hand, even if the email server hosting that account was on the internal wug network, there is no difference with you having your email server at home on a two computer network, and a private wug network with 500 computers... just one has a lot more computers.
Not sure if I understood your question?

 

[death192]

if the mail server is on the wug , the person that is hosting this mail server is basicly doing the same thing as a reverce proxy ( ok not completely the same thing but you know what i mean), he/she has offered to run a mail server out of there own free will and making that server public on the interwebz.
the same as someone that downloads source files and the adds them to a ftp on the wug.

it is connection to the world but its a bridged connection if you will , you as wugger has no path through the users personal network to get on the internet directly.

just my 1/2 cent

 

[portcullis]

death192, you've hit the nail on the head.

Joe Bloggs who has a WUG rig and not internet access whatsoever can therefore still use that "loophole" to send and receive all his emails without an internet subscription.

 

[daffy]

Not many people utilize the Jawug mail servers. In fact, I can probably count about 8, and 6 are on the Jawug management committee.
Still, it doesn't really give you internet access. I mean, the IRC Servers are accessible from the internet and internally. Does that mean that internal users are on the internet? No.

portcullis, I appreciate your concerns, but would the WUG forums not be a better place to ask these questions? You'll get answers from people that are more involved with the WUGs.
Posting questions like these on mybroadband makes it seem like accusations.

 

[Tweak]

Not many people utilize the Jawug mail servers. In fact, I can probably count about 8, and 6 are on the Jawug management committee.
Still, it doesn't really give you internet access. I mean, the IRC Servers are accessible from the internet and internally. Does that mean that internal users are on the internet? No.

portcullis, I appreciate your concerns, but would the WUG forums not be a better place to ask these questions? You'll get answers from people that are more involved with the WUGs.
Posting questions like these on mybroadband makes it seem like accusations.

Its best to post here because this is neutral ground..

Who needs to be insulted/ignored by some abusive moderators on your forum or irc ?

 

[wetkit]

Yes, really wondering where all of this is going?

The main use of our mail server is to send communications to everybody. Most of our users use their own e0mail addresses, and not the wug mail server.
So far I know our wug mail server is very limited in space, so there is not really space for users to send large attachments or anything in that line.
It is just used as a communications tool.

 

[davemc]

So, the WUG is providing a service that is accessible on the internet as well as the public license network.

Interesting area there, I suppose it depends on the wording of the "public" license agreement, something that I have yet to read.

 

[wetkit]

Eish man,it is like IRC.
Users on the WUG and INET can both access the same IRC server and chat together.
Now you guys are saying that a service like that is providing internet connectivity? LOL.
Remember, the WUG user still does not have direct access to the Internet.
How about our Forums, which is also accesable from both sides?
Also, what would you then say about DNS cashing? Would that also be seen as providing internet?

Maybe the definition of the word "connectivity" and "access" should be cleared up?

 

[ambo]

Maybe the definition of the word "connectivity" and "access" should be cleared up?

That is not where the actual differentiation comes.

Technically speaking it is 'the provision of a commercial service' that is not permitted over a wug. So as long as there is not fee being charged by anyone for access to the mail server (or other server) and additionally no fee being charged to make sure that said server is connected to the internet then there isn't really a problem.

If someone donated a 20Mbps CIR Internet link for a wug to use with absolutely no charge (and no strings attached) then there would probably be no problem... except for the fact that it would be so over contended that it would not be usable to anyone

The crux of the matter is that since there is no commercial arrangement - there is not SLA on the connection and no one to phone if it breaks. I personally wouldn't want to get my internet access on that basis

 

[blackguyza]

Can I browse any WUG Network through Internet connection?

 

[protzkrog]

no

 

[blackguyza]

no

I can't even join their gaming network? But I can join their IRC network, right?

 

[daffy]

Yep. No access to content and services on the WUG if you're not on the WUG.

 

[Pilgrim]

Some of the wug servers, like IRC and the HTTP server, are hosted on a machine that has both internet access and wug access. From inside the wug you can connect to them via the wug so you don't need internet. But over the internet you can still access them. But we mostly do this in order to communicate with the outside world, hence the irc server and the website.

I cannot think of another wug service that is also exposed to the internet, as the cost would become prohibitive. There are some users that run their own servers, and they also have both internet and wug access, but those are mostly servers that had available on the internet anyway. Personally my desktop pc is accessible via the internet in case I need to remote in to do something, but I do not provide those details to anyone

 

[blackguyza]

Now, I really wish I was living near one of the big cities. Maybe I must start a WUG at my small town.