Re: Looking for a free mail provider for PBEM

From: schiavonir@hotmail.com (Roger Schiavoni)

Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 20:54:06 +0000

madcentral@aol.com (MadCentral) wrote in message news:<20020107061746.22302.00000086@mb-mm.aol.com>...
> >>> What I'm looking for is a free (or very cheap) mail service which I
> > can easily write a VB program to query and retrieve messages and files
> > and put them in the proper location.  In my dreams, I imagine coming<<
>
> for VB you'll need to get the hang of using the MAPI module, which is great fun
> <grin>.
>
> Steve T.

My dreams have indeed come true, just as I envisioned them.  After
putting two and two together, I realized that 1) my cable modem
provider (AT&T, formerly @Home) provides a POP account, and 2)
EasyMail, the VB mail module that I had been using for SMTP outbound
mail, also has an object for inbound POP mail.  So I modified my
program to retrieve POP email, send receipts to the players, notify a
remote email address (so I can monitor from work), keep track of who
hasn't returned their files, and send reminders to players who take
too long.  This has really made my life easier.  I was able to host
two additional ACiv games, bringing my total to 4.  The program
handles all of the file manipulations automatically, and all I have to
do is play the game!  (ACiv is one of those games where the host also
plays.)

Thanks for your help and suggestions.  If you think that the program
I've written might have broad appeal (I have not hosted any other PBEM
games) please let me know.  I would have to modify it a bit to be more
generic for other games.

Roger Schiavoni

References

Re: Looking for a free mail provider for PBEM
madcentral@aol.com (MadCentral)
Mon, 07 Jan 2002 11:17:46 +0000