"Why should Eric and his competitors not charge for their business product?
Do you see the phone company giving away the first three months to get
you to install a phone?"
 
The phone companies have and do run advertising campaigns with offers of free long distance
 
I usbscribed to MCI because they sent me a voucher for about $30 worth of
calls (and they keep sending them).
 
Those with orphaned lists should start bugging the computer gurus at their
academic institutions to run listserv.  If budget is the problem I suppose they
can consider MAJORDOMO, which at this point costs $0.00.
 
Jorge Arriagada