______________________________________________________________________ NetSide Corporation - Internet Services Provider ______________________________________________________________________

NetSide Frequently Asked Questions
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1. Can I come to visit you?

No. NetSide is an Internet Services Provider, not a cybercafe. We value the security of our operation greater than your socializing needs. Our machine room is off limits to visitors, tourists, tire kickers, thrill seekers, nervous nellies, traveling salesmen, snake oil peddlers, firebreathers, etc. We have willingly turned down business from people that absolutely must bring their checks in person, bring over their machines or their floppies, have a look at the blinking lights, see for themselves that all equipment is really there, meet our president for a chat, show us their first-born, their spouse, their pet, complain about their bunions, and so forth... We are not your brother, nor your mother, we are your provider. We conduct all transactions over the phone, fax, or email.

2. How do I know you won't go out of business tomorrow?

We won't. NetSide has no outstanding debts, we are self-financed and never took out a loan. We love this field, and can sustain competition from giant BBS'es, Microsoft, phone companies, newspapers, oil barrons, hucksters, multi-level marketers, cable companies, and whoever else may wake up tomorrow with a dream of cornering the market. NetSide's founder single-handedly and with nobody's help built up the entire system from scratch, part by part, assembled software, and compiled all necessary Unix programs himself, while working two other jobs to pay the bills. We know our trade, we are not fat cats in three-piece suits, and we work our tails off for you...

3. Do you send a bill out every month?

No. In order to remanin competitive and keep a low overhead, NetSide will not bill their individual users for recurring charges. Credit card customers will be charged regularly, and customers that pay by check are asked to keep their own records (your cancelled check serves as a receipt). In extreme hardship cases, we suggest a refrigerator magnet and a neat reminder note ;)

4. What happens if I don't pay in time?

Your account will be suspended. That means that at login you will get the following message:

                _   __     __   ____  _     __
               / | / /__  / /_/ ___/_(_)__ / /__
              /  |/ / _ \/ __(_(_  / // _ ` / _ \
             / /|  /  __/ /____) )/ // /_/ /  __/
            /_/ |_/\___/\__/\___/ \_/\____/\___/    CORPORATION
           ---------------------------------------------------
          Internet Services Provider * http://www.netside.net

You have mail.

Access for this account was temporarily suspended (payment overdue).

                   Please remit payment to:

                   NetSide Corporation
                   P.O.Box 403895
                   Miami Beach, FL 33140

                   or call (305) 531-1995

Your account will be reactivated as soon as we receive your payment.
Those users who run an an automatic login script and do not open a terminal window after establishing a connection may not actually see the message, but their software will report to the effect that that the connection was dropped by the server.

Users paying by credit card whose plastic suddenly turns out bad two weeks in a row (charge declined) will also have their accounts suspended. It is the users' responsibility to maintain their credit cards in good standing, and timely notify merchants of any changes, or send a check. Sorry, NetSide is not your banker.

5. What happens if I exceed my disk quota?

All accounts have a 5MB overrun tollerance in excess of the normally allocated disk quota. You have 7 days to remove the excess files and bring your total megabyte count below the limit (usually 10MB), or request additional disk space from us. After the grace period has expired, you will not be able to work on the system and will have to call us to help you clean up your home directory.

6. I haven't used my account in x weeks. Do I have to pay for it?

Yes, of course you have to pay. When you order a phone line, and then don't make any calls for a month, you refuse to pay your monthly charges? When you order cable tv and don't watch tv for a few weeks, you tell them "sorry, but I haven't turned the tv set on at all lately, so I owe you nothing for last month?". NetSide offers a monthly service, just like your phone and cable company. Unless you specifically call or email ahead of time and cancel your service, your charges accumulate, if you access the Internet through our server or not. We do not sell you water or electricity or gas, physically metered things that you consume, we offer Internet connectivity quantified by the time passed since your initial subscription date. Smallest unit of measure here is one month.

7. I have prepaid x months, and now I want to cancel. Do I get a refund?

No. When you prepaid for 3, 6, or 12 months, you also received discounted fees. Why do you think we offer prepayment discounts for? We plan our current capacity and long-term growth based on subscribed and projected users. NetSide reinvests continuously in additional equipment to keep pace with growth, and prepaid accounts are factored in these calculations. Think of it as a prepaid, non-refundable airline ticket: it's cheaper than full fare, but you must use it, or lose it!

8. I am a poor student/senior/non-profit/beggar/etc. Can I get discounts?

No. We treat every individual the same, and have one tariff for all. You have to pay to play.

9. Why do I have to pay a setup fee?

Why not? Do you like to work for free? All new accounts are charged a setup fee, no exceptions. This pays for our labor to set up and test your account, talk to you on the phone, and answer your e-mail.

10. Do you offer cash incentives for referrals?

No. You recommend NetSide to your friends because you like the service and it's reliable, just like you would recommend a good car, restaurant, mechanic, hair dresser, etc.

11. I want to change my user login name.

We can do that, but you will have to pay a new account setup fee. Changing an account name is more than just an entry in the /etc/passwd and shadow files, it involves moving your home directory to another area, changing FTP access perms, changing your mailbox, changing your record name wherever it appears, etc. Of course, the new account name will have to be unique and available on the system.

12. How do I create/load/change my own web home page?

Every account offered by NetSide comes with a default home page, called "index.html", which is set up in your subdirectory "public_html". Simply overwrite this with your own html document and your page is displayed. All graphic files and other documents must be storted under public_html as well. The URL is in the form "http://www.netside.net/~username", unless you have your own virtual domain, in which case it may be in the form "http://www.companyname.com". We recommend using FTP for transferring files between your machine and our server. FTP software is freely available for downloading from the NetSide FTP site. Windows 95 and 3.1x users should retrieve, unzip and install ws_ftp, while Macintosh users need to download and install Fetch. Specify host ftp.netside.net using your username and password (not anonymous). This will place you in your home directory, from where you can then change directories to public_html and begin your FTP transfer. Only use binary mode for uploading/downloading graphic files (.gif and .jpg).

13. Who is paying the InterNIC charges for my domain?

You do. NetSide's one time domain setup fee of $150 does NOT include InterNIC charges. The InterNIC charges any domain holder (us included) $35/year just for the privilege of having the domain. They will mail the individual listed as the billing contact a bill via POSTAL MAIL for the first two years ($70), and then yearly thereafter ($35). This is clearly explained in their domain application form. NetSide is NOT your billing contact, YOU are. If you are applying for a new domain or a transfer, don't even think about using the NetSide name and DNS servers without permission. Your application will be denied, as we must ACK all domain applications, new and modify alike, that use our domain servers.

14. What about the new V.90 56K modem standard?

For V.90 and K56Flex support, NetSide utilizes hardware from the following vendors:

Ascend V.90

V.90 56K available NOW!

Ascend Max 4048 is a new router that works with channelized T1 and ISDN PRI telco service. New digital lines on a separate rotary with access numbers in Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties were installed to accommodate the equipment. The new PRI lines also support 64K/B channel ISDN dial-up. Since the Ascends use Radius and PAP/CHAP to authenticate PPP users, a special Radius user ID and password entry is required for every user authorized to access the new dial-up pool. Normally only users who reside in Broward or Palm Beach, or have V.90 or K56flex modems need this technology. There is a $10 one-time surcharge over regular setup fees (total of $25 for individual user setup) to connect to this pool, regular monthly tariff applies thereafter.

Microcom DeskPorte FAST+

Does this look like a weenie Sportster?

Since 1995, NetSide used only top-of-the-line Microcom DeskPorte FAST+ commercial grade 33.6Kbps modems, fully V.34 and V.FAST compliant, and has a heavy investment in technology to protect. The existing analog modem pool will remain operational to support speeds up to V.34. All new modems added from now on by NetSide will be digital V.90 (also Rockwell and Lucent K56Flex compatible). US Robotics X2 modems remain compatible up to V.34 speeds (33.6kbps), unless properly upgraded to V.90.

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