Register

Why do I have to register?

As 2600.network grew in popularity, so did the costs. As much as I'd like to provide a completely free and unrestricted service to the public, I am not able to continue in the way it once was.

While I was in the midst of struggling with the cost issues, I made small changes in order to prevent abusive use of the service. Many users used the services responsibly, using only a few minutes to connect, or limiting their connection to an hour or less. Some users, however, dialed in for hours at a time; totalling their usage to thousands of minutes over a small span of time.

Therefore the first change was a strict time limit of 15 minutes per call. This was proven unsucessful, as many callers would dial right back in after being disconnected, as they had no idea why they were disconnected, or perhaps, they didn't care.

Then came the second change: disconnecting all services. People continued to dial in still, with some users dialing in up to 15 times in a row. Even though the system was executing immediate hangups on all callers.

These problems lead me to investigate other options in order to prevent abuse to the service, and to limit the cost.

I found several problems that existed:

• Users were using too many minutes
• Users were calling back-to-back to escape time limits
• Users were using different phone numbers (possibly to escape limits)
• Users were not verifying their Caller ID was correct before calling

With these problems identified, I came up with a solution:
User Registration and Call Accounting.

With registration enabled, users would only be able to dial in with numbers that have been registered. In tandem with user registration, call accounting would limit the amount of minutes available to any given user. I'm hoping that with these two technologies it'll prevent many of the issues I was encountering.

How the registration process works:

In order to register, you'll have to call in to our voice line at +1 (515) 400-4001 from your telephone. The number you register from must pass STIR/SHAKEN validation, a new telecommunications technology that prevents call spoofing. This requires that your Caller ID is set correctly and has not been tampered with.

Most cellular and landline options should pass this validation. Sadly, many VoIP providers have not yet gotten their service up to this standard. That's okay though! I have created the registration process so your "Validation" number is allowed by default, and you can add one extra phone number, even if it's not STIR/SHAKEN validated.

Each allowed phone number has a limit of 100 minutes per month. If this isn't enough for your needs, please consider donating, and I'll add some extra minutes for your help. Currently, there is no limit to how often you can change your allowed number, but please don't abuse the service, as you're now required to accept the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy in order to register.

Users with dedicated numbers pointing to their BBSes are not subject to this limit.
Please contact me if you're interested in a dedicated number for your BBS.

Registration process, simplified:

• Read our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
• Dial into +1 (515) 400-4001
• Select option #1 to register
• Accept the TOS/Privacy Policy
• Sucessfully pass STIR/SHAKEN Validation
• If you choose to, enter your second allowed number