[ale] Fwd: [MailID: 700978 RE: BellSouth.net ISP Canceled For Lack

Jeff Hubbs hbbs at bellsouth.net
Fri Oct 22 22:22:42 EDT 1999


I dunno, Gabe - it may be that they are getting so many flames about lack of Linux support
that even this is an automated or at least a "canned" reply.  Me, I plan to drop Bellsouth.net
like a bad habit if I can get DSL or cable modem when I move.

Just as a note, down here in Jonesboro way a private contractor cut a phone cable just up the
street from our apt complex yesterday afternoon and the entire complex and God knows where all
else lost dialtone.  It wasn't fixed as of about 2 am this morning.  When I called the
Bellsouth service number, all they would tell me is that they will get a crew on it as soon as
possible and that they could only commit to getting it fixed by 8pm TUESDAY.  Anyhow, by 11 or
so this morning it was working again.  Maybe it was that call I made to the AJC after
Bellsouth told me they couldn't fix it for five days.

- Jeff

Gabriel Donnell wrote:

> Hello ALE,
>
> It looks BellSouth.net is responsive to their feedback.  Attached is the
> e-mail message I received from one of the feedback representatives.  It
> was not an automated reply either.  A human actually read the e-mail and
> seemed like they unstood the issue.
>
> If any of you feel that BellSouth.net support for Linux would be
> advantages for the Linux community, then please let our voice be heard
> and send them your comments.  Please inform them about anything you know
> about the Linux momentum.
>
> Also, if any of have you sent feedback to BellSouth.net regarding support
> for Linux, then please reply to let us/me know what were the results.
> Let us/me know if they gave the same reply but did nothing, indicated
> that they would support it, and/or made some changes.
>
> Regards,
> Gabe
>
> ____________________________________________________________________
> Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com.
>
>   ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Subject: MailID: 700978 RE: BellSouth.net ISP Canceled For Lack Of Linux Support
> Date: Wed, 20 Oct 1999 13:50:07 -0400 (EDT)
> From: "Bellsouth.Net FEEDBACK" <feedback at bellsouth.net>
> To: gabrieldonnell at netscape.net
>
> Dear Gabriel,
>
> Thank you for taking the time to write to us
>
> We are constantly working to improve service to our customers,
> so we appreciate your taking the time to let us know what
> improvements you would like us to make to our network. Your
> comments and suggestions regarding Linux have been passed to the
> appropriate department within BellSouth.net and will be taken
> in to consideration as part of our continuous improvement process.
>
> If you have any additional questions or comments, please
> e-mail us again.
>
> Nicole
> feedback at bellsouth.net
>
> ----------Original Message----------
>
> Hello BellSouth.net Feedback Representative,
>
> I Changed to MindSpring because the authentication
> is configured to work well with Linux. Plus, they
> provide very good references, links and other
> resources to help Linux customers configure their
> system to dial-in to their network.
>
> Even though they do not directly support Linux,
> their technical support still provides as much
> assistance as they can. Also, they have and
> provide documentation on how to configure the
> Linux OS to dial-in and establish authentication.
>
> My experiences with BellSouth.net support was
> very bad, and the support people would shunted
> their support when they found out I use Linux.
> In one case, I had a VALinux (computer vendor)
> technical support rep on the phone line with me
> so he could tell the BellSouth.net technical
> support rep that I needed the default gateway
> address and the authentication protocol. The
> BellSouth.net rep just hung up without saying
> anything when he was not able to find the
> information.
>
> Eventually, some people from VALinux, the Atlanta
> Linux Enthusiasts (ALE) organization, and the
> Linux General Store help me figure out what I
> needed to do to configure my system to establish
> the authentication.
>
> The fix was very simple. The Linux default
> configuration:
> 1. Does NOT send anything to the ISP connection
>    to indicate that the login prompt is desired.
> 2. Expects the "login:" string from the ISP
>    connection for the account name.
>    That is how must Unix-based platforms work.
>    Henseforth, the MindSpring authentication works
>    fine with the default Linux configuration, and it
>    does not require any special knowledge nor
>    changes.
>
> However, for BellSouth.net authentication:
> 1. The ISP connection requires a blank line to
>    be sent to to indicate that the login prompt
>    is desired.
> 2. Sends "username:" instead of "login:" for the
>    account name prompt.
>    Must Unix-based platforms do work this way.
>    Therefore, the BellSouth.net authentication does
>    NOT work with the default Linux configuration,
>    and it requires special knowledge and changes.
>
> I think this type of problem could have been
> prevented in many ways which I described below:
> 1. BellSouth.net should take Linux more serious
>    than they do because it is a very popular OS
>    that has gone beyond the hobbiests community.
>    However, BellSouth.net competition may like
>    that BellSouth.net does not support Linux or
>    Unix because it is more business for them.
> 2. BellSouth.net should research and investigate
>    ways to Support Linux, or at least provide some
>    information. They should not shunt customers
>    who use Linux or a Unix-based OS. Remember,
>    Unix is the OS that the network started on,
>    and it will NOT die off to MS-Windows & Mac.
> 3. BellSouth.net should research and investigate
>    the big momentum Linux has gained. There are
>    many major companies like Intel, Compaq,
>    Hewlett-Packard and several others that wised
>    up and provide resources to assist the Linux
>    agenda. As a former Intel Merced IA-64
>    microprocessor engineer, I am well informed on
>    the efforts Intel provides for Linux.
> 4. BellSouth.net should train their technical
>    support staff to understand the underlying
>    process that occurs during authentication.
>    These are the procedures that are embedded in
>    the BellSouth.net Internet CD for MS-Windows
>    OS. This would have solved my problem a long
>    time ago.
>
> This may not be important to BellSouth.net, and
> the BellSouth.net person reading this may have
> stopped reading before this point. If that
> happened, then it will be a great lost to
> BellSouth.net.
>
> As a contractor for BellSouth International
> Wireless Services and BellSouth Telephone
> Services customer, I attempted to maintain my
> loyalty by using BellSouth.net for my ISP. Even
> after I got the bad support from BellSouth.net,
> I still tried to give BellSouth.net the benefit
> of the doubt and hang in there.
>
> To maintain the loyalty I committed to support
> the efforts of Linux, I choose pay for products
> and services which support Linux. Therefore, I
> switched to MindSpring for my ISP.
>
> Regards,
> Gabriel Donnell
>
> ____________________________________________________________________
> Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://webm=
> ail.netscape.com.






More information about the Ale mailing list