Monday, April 1, 2002
AvantGo Relents?
Posted by Jason Dunn in "THOUGHT" @ 06:36 PM
http://avantgo.com/support/channel_support.html
If you recall the big uproar over AvantGo shutting down custom channels, you'll know that it was a big deal for many people - I stopped using AvantGo because all my useful channels were custom ones. It seems that AvantGo heard the uproar, because you can now get Pocket PC Thoughts again using AvantGo (although they continue to butcher my code and make it look worse than it should). A few people sent me this link which explains AvantGo's current policy:
"Access to Custom Channels (i.e. domains) will NOT be blocked based solely on the number of subscribers, we will focus more closely on the nature of the use. In addition, we have created exceptions for certain types of domains. These domains are public facing government web sites and certain sites that host individual websites. If you previously were using one of these channels and found you were unable to access it, please try syncing again. AvantGo will now monitor Custom Channels for use inconsistent with its policy (i.e., use of the Custom Channel function to distribute content, goods and/or services by actively soliciting AMI subscribers). AvantGo will also now look at how demand for a Custom Channel is generated. If it is organic user demand, as opposed to a third party soliciting subscribers to use the service, AvantGo will weigh this factor favorably before deciding to limit access to a channel."
Of course, I'm not getting too excited - there's still this little ditty:
"All Custom Channels with over 1,000 subscribers now require an agreement with AvantGo. We will attempt to notify the channel owner when the number of subscribers reaches this number."
If you recall the big uproar over AvantGo shutting down custom channels, you'll know that it was a big deal for many people - I stopped using AvantGo because all my useful channels were custom ones. It seems that AvantGo heard the uproar, because you can now get Pocket PC Thoughts again using AvantGo (although they continue to butcher my code and make it look worse than it should). A few people sent me this link which explains AvantGo's current policy:
"Access to Custom Channels (i.e. domains) will NOT be blocked based solely on the number of subscribers, we will focus more closely on the nature of the use. In addition, we have created exceptions for certain types of domains. These domains are public facing government web sites and certain sites that host individual websites. If you previously were using one of these channels and found you were unable to access it, please try syncing again. AvantGo will now monitor Custom Channels for use inconsistent with its policy (i.e., use of the Custom Channel function to distribute content, goods and/or services by actively soliciting AMI subscribers). AvantGo will also now look at how demand for a Custom Channel is generated. If it is organic user demand, as opposed to a third party soliciting subscribers to use the service, AvantGo will weigh this factor favorably before deciding to limit access to a channel."
Of course, I'm not getting too excited - there's still this little ditty:
"All Custom Channels with over 1,000 subscribers now require an agreement with AvantGo. We will attempt to notify the channel owner when the number of subscribers reaches this number."
