General Service Questions

What is my e-mail address? Does my GCFN.ORG e-mail address also receive e-mail at FREENET.COLUMBUS.OH.US?

For subscribers of our end-user e-mail, dialup, or accelerated dialup solutions, your e-mail address is in the format USER@gcfn.org (where USER represents your account name). The system also will accept e-mail to USER@freenet.columbus.oh.us and deliver it to your account. End-user solutions should be expected to work reliably only for those two account formats.

E-mail addresses in the format USER@wdyllc.com will not get to your account. Addresses in that domain are used by WDY Enterprises, LLC.

What is "SlipStream" technology?

SlipStream is a technology that seems to speed up Internet dial-up activity. Based on its sales literature, it can provide up to a 6x performance increase in web download performance over dialup links. Clients are available for Windows 95/98/98SE/ME, as well as Windows NT, 2000, and XP. A client is also available for Mac OS X.

Why do you charge for technical support?

The business model for our dialup services are based on "no frills." We don't have a sufficient margin built into our pricing to cover giving technical support away. Most people don't need significant technical support after setup anyway, so why should you pay for a capability you probably won't use after the first year, when you only need it once in the beginning? Using a "pay as you go" model for support means that individuals who need or use more technical support pay for it, and individuals who don't need or use technical support don't. It seems more fair to do that.

"How-To" Questions

How do I change my password?

You can change your password from the accounts preferences page, http://wdyllc.com/preferences/.

How do I configure my e-mail client to work with WDY Enterprises?

Take a look at our support pages.

How do I configure my Internet dial-up connection?

If you've contracted with us for dial-up services, take a look at our support pages.

How to I resolve password problems?

First off, remember that you have two (2) usernames. Depending on the system context, you may need to use USERNAME@gcfn.org or just USERNAME. The best advice is to try both before contacting us for assistance.

Technically, there are specific rules governing when to use which one (@gcfn.org is used when the information is going to/coming from a service not managed by WDYLLC, such as dialup or slipstream authentication; usernames without @gcfn.org are used when the information is completely under the control of WDYLLC). However, without laying out a detailed architecture description in excruciating technical detail, it's easier and simpler just to try both USERNAME@gcfn.org and USERNAME.

Why can't I send and/or receive e-mail using Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express?

This is typically caused by a misconfiguration of your e-mail program. The short answer is that, in order to send e-mail, you must (1) use an appropriate alternative port, (2) you must use encryption for your SMTP transaction, and (3) you must provide authentication credentials to the server. In order to do this in either Outlook or Outlook Express, you must have correct settings on the advanced properties tab of your e-mail account. Our support website provides configuration guides for current versions of Microsoft Outlook Express and Microsoft Outlook. Please note that we recommend against the use use of Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express for e-mail due to unpredictable and unannounced changes in encryption behavior that have been tracked to automatic updates. Our recommended e-mail platform is Mozilla Thunderbird.

Money and Resource Questions

Should I include sales tax with my service agreement?

Based on an information page posted by the Ohio Department of Taxation, any time the listed Subscriber is an Ohio business, or payment for Services comes from an Ohio business entity, the payment needs to sales tax for where you USE the service. When Services are being provided to an individual, the transaction does not appear to be taxable. Work with us on this -- if you're a business, we can look up the appropriate tax rate (6.75% in Franklin County, OH) by your zipcode or the county in which you do business.

Can you make a charitable donation to WDY Enterprises?

As much as it sounds like we're a non-profit, WDY Enterprises is a for-profit Ohio Limited Liability Company. Any donations you wish to make aren't deductable.

Can you volunteer with WDY Enterprises?

We don't really have a plan for managing volunteer efforts, but contact us and we can look into it.

The How's and Why's

How'd you expand your capacity and get so many modems so fast?

The short answer is: we didn't. My company is consolidating Free-Net users into a group, and then purchasing dial-up services at wholesale rates and then metering access to the wholesale services.

How can WDY Enterprises provide dial-up service at such a low price?

We review our pricing on a regular basis. We understand that our pricing seems to be better than what many other providers out there can give. We believe that a minimalistic, no-frills approach can work. How long we keep any given pricing model depends on business factors, such as the degree that we're nickel-and-dimed by our subcontractors, our vendors, and (frankly) our users.