Re: MEPBM:Bill Field Speaks

From: desj@ccr-p.ida.org (David desJardins)

Date: Sat, 19 Nov 1994 20:40:26 +0000

ROCHELLE NEWMAN <v313mdm8@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu> writes:
> First, emailing is more money.

It seems to me that you would have to have an unusually large number of
orders before you could spend more than $0.29 to email them.  I guess it
depends on the game, but it seems strange.

Furthermore, companies should give you a discount for emailed orders,
because it saves them a *lot* of money.  Order entry is the #1 or #2
expense for pbm companies.

> Second, a lot of people have had problems with email arriving, and
> therefore don't want to trust it.

Right.  And have you ever depended on the US Mail, pray tell?  I can
remember back in the days when I was willing to play games by mail, what
fun it was to find out that my orders mysteriously took 3 weeks to
arrive, instead of 3 days.

> Third, depending on the email system you have, there can be format
> errors when it arrives, which will lead to it being entered wrong.

This can be avoided just by doing it right, whereas with written orders
entry errors are inevitable.

> Lastly, you can't send note cards to other players

Of course you can, if the company provides a reasonable way to include
DMs in your email.

> or send in money via email

That's what credit cards are for.  It's an expense for the company to
take them, but it sure makes life easier for everyone.

> - and if you have to send in your money by mail anyway, whats the
> advantage of sending in the turn by email?

Even if this is necessary, you probably aren't sending money more often
than every fifth turn or so.

> Email doesn't eliminate typing errors - my understanding is that they
> have to retype it all anyway

Then your understanding is wrong.  What would possibly make you think
that it's technically not possible to transfer orders electronically
from email into the game program?

> - they don't just read out your file and enter it directly, so there
> is no real advantage.

Any particular vendor might or might not do this, but it's certainly
wrong to say that it's not possible.  If they don't, it's their loss,
and a sign that they aren't interested in the pbem business (which means
they will never do any business with me).  Their loss, IMO.

David desJardins
--
Copyright 1994 David desJardins.  Unlimited permission is granted to quote
from this posting for non-commercial use as long as attribution is given.

References

MEPBM:Bill Field Speaks
swater@esd.sgi.com (Adam Waters)
Wed, 16 Nov 1994 16:59:06 +0000
Re: MEPBM:Bill Field Speaks
gl8f@fermi.clas.Virginia.EDU (Greg Lindahl)
Wed, 16 Nov 1994 22:19:02 +0000
Re: MEPBM:Bill Field Speaks
llucky@crl.com (Bob Thomson)
Thu, 17 Nov 1994 15:28:12 +0000
Re: MEPBM:Bill Field Speaks
v313mdm8@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu (ROCHELLE NEWMAN)
Fri, 18 Nov 1994 17:18:00 +0000

Referenced By

MEPBM:Bill Field Speaks
swater@esd.sgi.com (Adam Waters)
Wed, 16 Nov 1994 16:59:06 +0000
Re: MEPBM:Bill Field Speaks
gl8f@fermi.clas.Virginia.EDU (Greg Lindahl)
Wed, 16 Nov 1994 22:19:02 +0000
Re: MEPBM:Bill Field Speaks
llucky@crl.com (Bob Thomson)
Thu, 17 Nov 1994 15:28:12 +0000
Re: MEPBM:Bill Field Speaks
v313mdm8@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu (ROCHELLE NEWMAN)
Fri, 18 Nov 1994 17:18:00 +0000