There's at least one popular email client that allows the user to set a
download size threshold. If the message size exceeds the value, then
it only brings down a header, with an option to explicitly download the
entire message.
I had a similar problem when travelling once and used this feature to
advantage.
Dave.
At 07:05 PM 12/12/99 -0500, Dick St.Peters wrote:
> > > > > But how large is too large?
> > > >
> > > > I imposed a 5 MB limit here after someone sent a single message of more
> > > > than 100 MB to one of our dialup users. This past week I had a user
> > > > get upset that we wouldn't accept a 28 MB message he wanted someone to
> > > > send him.
> >
> > He's probably now looking for a new ISP ...
>
>I don't think so. His employer has already asked for my help in
>identifying why their 56k frame-relay line is so saturated. That one
>28 MB message would have occupied its full capacity for more than an
>hour.
>
> > >Not every user requires this kind of bandwidth today, but the
> > >applications to generate sch data are here (sound, multiple still
> > >images, video, sharing executables, etc). You can't unring the bell, so
> > >it's probably worthwhile to study what can be done to mitigate the
> > >impact.
>
>Well, I can give my answer without further study: people with
>corporate or university T3 connections need to remember that the most
>common connection is still a 26.4 Kbps dialup. A 2 MB message that
>takes a fraction of a second to send over a T3 (or a few seconds over
>a T1) takes dialup users about ten minutes to download.
>
>During download of a large message, dialup users get no feedback
>telling them something is happening. When they get an unusually large
>message, they think something is hung and hang up. This leaves their
>mailbox locked until TCP times out, so when they dial back in and try
>again they get a cryptic error message. After two or three tries at
>this they're frustrated and on the phone to support. This almost
>invariably ends with a request that we delete the message for them.
>
> > ISP's and corporate email administrators should just get used to large and
> > frequent email attachments, upgrade their systems, or watch their
> customers
> > or job go somewhere else.
>
>The Internet's bandwidth-blessed elite should keep in mind that the
>vast bulk of Internet users does not share their good fortune or the
>values that depend on it.
>
>--
>Dick St.Peters, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Gatekeeper, NetHeaven, Saratoga Springs, NY
>Saratoga/Albany/Amsterdam/BoltonLanding/Cobleskill/Greenwich/
>GlensFalls/LakePlacid/NorthCreek/Plattsburgh/...
> Oldest Internet service based in the Adirondack-Albany region
---------------------------------------------------------------
David Mitton ESN: 248-4570
Consulting Engineer, Nortel Networks 978-288-4570 Direct
Carrier Packet Solutions, Preside 978-288-3030 FAX
Billerica, MA 01821 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
