Why you should quit using Hotmail and advice others to do the same.
What is the point of having an email that people cannot reach?
That is what’s happening to to Hotmail users. Have you asked yourself how many messages addressed to you was lost due to inadequate Hotmail’s way of filtering spam? The emails from your friends don’t even get the chance to get into the junk folder, they are deleted right away. Microsoft is trying to get rid of spam for it’s users but is blocking real people’s emails at the same time.
I hate spam and spammers but I started to hate Hotmail and Microsoft even more. For days now I was unable to send emails to my friends on Hotmail, the usual “Undelivered Mail Returned to Sender” message from the host is always something like that:
host mx3.hotmail.com[65.54.244.72] said: 550
SC-001 Mail rejected by Windows Live Hotmail for policy reasons. Reasons
for rejection may be related to content with spam-like characteristics or
IP/domain reputation problems. If you are not an email/network admin please
contact your E-mail/Internet Service Provider for help. Email/network
admins, please visit http://postmaster.live.com for email delivery
information and support (in reply to MAIL FROM command)
I emailed my ESP of course first asking for explanations (it is in Turkey by the way) and the reply was that I should address my concerns to TurkTelekom if I’m using their ADSL connection (apparently this is a known issue already), since Hotmail have blocked TurkTelekom’s IP’s. The thing is, I’m not in Turkey, I’m in China and I use both ADSL from CNC and mobile connection through CDMA from China Unicom. And that can only mean one thing – Hotmail is blocking CNC’s and China Unicom’s IP’s as well. I guess what Hotmail is trying to suggest is – if you want to email our users get a hotmail address. And what I want to suggest by writing this article is – ignore the Hotmail!
Don’t use their service any longer and ask your friends not to use it any more. There are plenty of other free email services like GMail or Yahoo mail which are far much better and don’t have stupid blocking settings.
I could live with the idea that I had to spend some time deleting spam, using various spam filters I can actually dramatically reduce the time I spend, but what can I do when my emails I send to friends or business partners are simply being blocked? I understand Microsoft’s desire to control spam, but this is certainly not the right way. I found dozens of cases on the internet reporting the same problem with Hotmail servers and none of us is happy with Hotmail’s new way of handling spam. It simply blocks the true emails!
The reason I call on you to quit using Hotmail is because even if you contact Hotmail/Live.com and ask them to include your IP address in the allowed list, specify the domain name you are sending it from, it will still be ignored. Here are the proofs, have some fun by reading these forums: my server ip is blocked by hotmail, Hotmail blocking my IP? or even Microsoft Hotmail Blocking Yahoo! Mail as Spam? Apparently Microsoft staff is unaware of what is work with customers or are under the impression that the world should adopt to their rules. I think it’s the time now to tell them bye bye or let them adopt to the people’s demands. It is much easier to simply change your free email service from Hotmail to any other decent ESP (free or paid, doesn’t matter).
I don’t use Hotmail and I haven’t used their free services for years now (I use my own domain name and ESP I pay for), but I do have friends I cannot reach simply because they opted to use Hotmail and it is my advise to all the hotmail users now – stop using it, just change it to something better. Without getting to much into the technical details: it doesn’t matter if I use shared or dedicated IP address, it doesn’t matter if you message Hotmail and report the problem, It doesn’t matter if you use free or paid email, POP3/SMTP or web-based account – it is at Microsoft’s (Hotmail/Live.com) sole discretion to allow your messages to be received or not. Millions of people now cannot send emails to Hotmail accounts because the stupid Hotmail policy.
My appeal is to current Hotmail users, if you still want to receive emils from real people and friends change your email! They cannot reach you!
UPDATE: Articles for “I hate Hotmail” club:
And here’s a group I just created on Facebook to help spread the word about Hotmail currently blocking non-spam emails from usual users – Why you should quit using Hotmail!
Hotmail does make it impossible to receive Emails from some IP’s. They expect everyone to adopt to their policy which is not going to happen. Look at GMail or even Yahoo, everything’s fine, I will agree – stop using hotmail, open a Gmail account instead.
I like your sense of humour.
Me too.! ask for a release of blocked IP from Hotmail hard like you wanna flying to Universe.
I’ll advise all of my friend try to quit Hotmail Too!
Interesting gossip: unknown person said he donât use Hotmail. That’s good information: unknown person said he havenât used their free services for years now he or she use his or her own domain name and ESP he or she pay for. How do you like t you do have friends you can not reach simply because they opted to use Hotmail and it?
to Ericka: long long time ago (like in around ’97-’98) I did try the Hotmail, and may I remind you that it wasn’t Microsoft’s back then. Now, are you suggesting I should open a useless Hotmail account just for emailing my friends I and the rest of the world cannot reach because of stupid Hotmail blocking settings? My suggestion was on the other hand: quit using Hotmail – much wiser option.
In the meantime I guess Hotmail did change it’s stupid policy, which was a smart decision, but I already have very few friends using Hotmail.
Hi Sergiu,
Thank you for your post.
I added a reference to it in an article I just wrote.
(Drop me a line in case you don’t like being linked!)
Cheers!
10 reasons why not to use Hotmail:
http://www.johannes-eva.net/index.php?page=2010-01-ten-reasons-why-not-to-use-hotmail
I completely agree with you. I am the mail server administrator for web hosting company and manage 80 mail servers. It is a nightmare dealing with Hotmail. First you have to fill up the long long, very long form in their SNDS system and then after few hours or days some one will contact you and ask you vague explanation and after that your ip may be unblocked after 4-5 days in case someone get chance to view your request.
Ovoid Hotmail like plague !
p.s;: If you are not a mail server administrator you will not be able to fill SNDS form because it ask for lots of technical information which is never required.