[gsreenivas]

Hi there - co-founder/CEO of Helm here.

We don't make the subscription optional at this time because the overwhelming majority of people on the Internet do not have a static IP address with a corresponding PTR record, which is required if you want to have deliverable email. There are other ways to handle domain registration, DNS and backups on your own, but we believe the subscription is a pretty great value for the convenience it provides.

[noncoml]

I love your idea and execution. But requiring yearly subscription is defeating the purpose of "Break away from big tech" as I am now tied to your company instead of big tech. What's the point in this?

[gsreenivas]

You can see elsewhere where I discuss what the subscription provides. I think there's a huge difference between subscribing to companies that share customer values around privacy and security vs being at the mercy of companies looking to extract as much value from your data as possible.

[a3n]

Speaking cynically and pessimistically, when it's your planned exit and who are your potential buyers?

[phone[phone]]

Keeping an eye out for when their "fantastic journey" ends.

[noncoml]

OK, thanks for your reply. JFYI It's not what you think that will make or break your business; it's what your potential customers think, that matters.

[gsreenivas]

If people are lumping in all tech companies in with big tech, we should all be concerned about that.

[Talanes]

People who are consciously trying to de-couple from big tech are the same people who are conscious about lock-in effects.

[gsreenivas]

There isn't any lock-in using a Helm. You can always access and export your data on the LAN using standards-based clients to get your data wherever you'd like it to be.

[solarkraft]

Not only that, those are one of the big reasons for the migration away.

[1vuio0pswjnm7]

Is the subscription mandatory. What about the minority of users who do have a static IP address. Should all users be given an option to arrange their own static IP address as well as to subscribe to a pre-packaged deal. They might be able to get a better price than $99/yr, or better terms. Whats to lose by having options.

These are honest questions because I have often thought about a similar project where a static IP is required and wondered if and how it could support itself.

[1vuio0pswjnm7]

Another way to think about this is that the service is a static IP for $99/yr and the rest is "free", i.e., optional. Perhaps the majority of users will be attracted by the "free" stuff, but a minority might see a static IPv4 as having many potentially useful advantages for personal computing.^1

This is how I view the internet. I pay for access, and this gives me access to, among other things, the web, and various "free services" offered on the web by so-called "tech" companies.^2 There is no obligation that I have to use them. I can choose what I think is useful and ignore the rest.

1. Previously we have seen the static IPv4 address marketed by ISPs in the US as a "business account". Personal use is not contemplated.

2. But the IP addresses we get from ISPs suck for things like running a smtpd. We need solutions to this problem besides "tech" company middlemen.

[gsreenivas]

We might consider adding support in the future - we're not philosophically against it, but it is more work to develop and support.

[solarkraft]

It's honestly a red flag.

[gsreenivas]

A red flag for what? I would like to understand this better.

[solarkraft]

Company integrity/actually wanting to empower users. This unreasonably forces dependency on the company and bricks the device once support inevitably ends. That's usually a pretty good indication for a user-hostile company.

[gsreenivas]

I'm not sure where you got that the device would be bricked. Can you point me to where you saw this?

All data is accessible on local ports on the LAN, with or without the subscription service.

[thesausageking]

How much revenue, if any, do you give back to the Nextcloud project?

[TedDoesntTalk]

How do you manage the spam reputation of the IP addresses you use for mail delivery when some of your customers may be sending spam?

[gsreenivas]

We have relationships with key ESPs and email security providers to help with managing reputation/deliverability issues.

There are much cheaper ways to send spam effectively than using a Helm so we haven't seen real issues around this.

[dsr_]

The problem is not that spammers will buy your boxes and subscriptions and ISP connections in order to spam.

The problem is that spammers will get into your customers' boxes and use them to spam.

[philderbeast]

so provide a dynamic dns solution with one of the huge number of providers out there?

there are plenty of ways to get around that particular problem (although a cloud server is one of the best). so why not provide the information and let the user decide rather then telling us all we need to use your subscription service.

[hestefisk]

Could you offer both? It’s a cool product but I just don’t see the need for a proprietary middle-person.