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PER-SESSION TIME LIMIT
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Since February 1996 we have used a per-session time limit to prevent
callers from camping on the modems for extended periods of time. This has
helped us distribute modem access more equitably among our customers.

The ideal arrangement would have been to turn the per-session limit on
during busy periods and off during slow periods.  Our access servers don't
have the ability to to that automatically, so manual reconfiguration would
have been required each time the limit needed to be turned on or off. That
wasn't practical, so the per-session limit has remained in effect around
the clock. 

For some time I have been experimenting with various ways to automate the
"limit on" and "limit off" reconfigurations, but kept running into
reliability problems. Last weekend I implemented a method that seems to be
running reliably.

Here's how it works from the caller's point of view:

o If you call after 10:00 PM you can stay connected until 1:00 PM the
  next afternoon.  Anyone who has been connected for three hours or more
  as of 1:00 PM will be disconnected.

o If you call between 10:00 AM and 10:00 PM you will be subject to the
  normal per-session time limit (currently 3 hours).

We reserve the right to change the "limit off" time, the "limit on" time,
and the per-session time limit if necessary.  Any such changes will be
announced in BCPL System News. 

This should not be taken as a guarantee that you will be able to stay
connected from 10:00 PM through 1:00 PM without unexpected disconnects. 
Your ability to stay connected for prolonged periods of time depends on
the stability of your modem connection, the quality of your phone line,
the configuration of your computer and your software, and many other
factors that are beyond our control. 

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Please contact the BCPL Help Desk if you have questions about this
System News message or about anything else related to your account.

Phone:                 410-887-3297
FAX:                   410-887-2091
E-Mail:                help@bcpl.net
Help Pages:            http://www.bcpl.net/help.html
                       (or enter "help" at the UNIX shell prompt)
System News Archives:  http://www.bcpl.net/sysnews.html
                       (or enter "sysnews" at the UNIX shell prompt)