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Hotmail Blocks Gmail Emails (and Invites)

bonhomme_de_neige writes "Emails and invitations sent to Hotmail from Gmail accounts do not bounce, but nor do they arrive in the recipient's Inbox - they vanish mysteriously into the aether. Joel Johnson writes in his Gizmodo weblog that invitations he sent to a Hotmail address bounced (this even received coverage from ZDNet). Search Engine Roundtable writes that several ISPs are blocking Gmail. It's already well-documented that Yahoo moves Gmail invites into the Bulk Mail folder. I've personally confirmed the Hotmail and Yahoo blocking." Please note: I've not been able to verify this one way or another.

39 of 894 comments (clear)

  1. Stunning by Marxist+Commentary · · Score: 5, Funny

    Mega-corporations don't play nice? Really? I'm absolutely flabbergasted!

    1. Re:Stunning by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Because people should never need to switch ISP's, colleges, or jobs. I know when I pick a college, I'm there for the rest of my life.

    2. Re:Stunning by MarkPNeyer · · Score: 4, Funny

      You mean a company offering its services for free is putting restrictions on said services? *Gasp* Can 1984 be far behind? Surely this is the result of the eeeevil George W. Bush and his Patriot Act. Serioulsy, though. These companies are offering a free service. There's nothing unethical or illegal about making said service crappier. Even if you were paying for it, they've still got license to do whatever they want with the service (unless of course the TOS say that the TOS are never going to change...) Isn't this just like consoles all being proprietary, so that not just anyone can make games fro them?

      --

      My blog
    3. Re:Stunning by mgrassi99 · · Score: 5, Funny

      I have both a Yahoo and Hotmail account...someone email me an invite and I'll verify this post ;)

      mgrassi99@yahoo.com
      mikegrassi@hotmail.com

      -M

    4. Re:Stunning by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      I have lost touch with many people because they changed email addresses and never told anyone.
      Oh, I doubt that they never told anyone. Likely they decided not to tell just you. Do you really believe that you lost touch with them by accident???

    5. Re:Stunning by dAzED1 · · Score: 2, Funny
      "I have lost touch with many people because they changed email addresses and never told anyone."

      They told people, they just didn't tell you. Sorry to be the one to tell you that... ;)

    6. Re:Stunning by NerdSlayer · · Score: 3, Funny

      hmm... no gmail account for you, but I'm willing to bet some spam will be on its way...

    7. Re:Stunning by ryanwright · · Score: 2, Funny

      Real ISPs come and go, you are not in college forever, and you dont keep the same job forever. However, you CAN keep one of these "second-rate" email addresses indefinitely.

      Private domain: $8 a year.
      Virtual server on a high speed backbone: $20 a month.
      Having unlimited email addresses you can keep for the rest of your life: Priceless.

      But I charge mine to American Express.

      --
      -Ryan, with the unoriginal sig
    8. Re:Stunning by BlueJay465 · · Score: 2, Funny

      I agree with you. Back in the mid-late 90s yahoo, hotmail (pre-MS), and other providers were easily paying over $100 per gig of space. Why, back in day, 1995 I believe...

      I fondly remember those days installing those newfangled Western Digital 1.6 GB Caviar drives working at the Mom & Pop Computer Shop. Those puppies were selling like hotcakes for about $200, and I remember having to walk a mile to and from the bus stop where I had to ride for an half hour trip and hoof it for another mile, barefoot, in the snow, uphill both directions....with only 2400 baud.

      AND BY GOLLY WE LIKED IT!

      Almost 10 years later, you kids have it so easy these days. They keep making the drives bigger and faster and cheaper and smaller. These days a 160GB drive only goes for a measly 77 clams. Oh yeah, those guys over at Google were smart. Establish their presence first, and invest in ungodly amounts of hard drive space for dirt cheap. It's 2004, why on earth wouldn't those companies that did it in the 90s be pissed off about it.

      HEY, GET OFF MY LAWN YOU DAMN KIDS!

    9. Re:Stunning by h3 · · Score: 2, Funny

      BUT I set up my yahoo account 10 years ago, and yes I had a college account,

      Erm... Yahoo account 10 years ago? I'm pretty sure Yahoo was just a tilde account at stanford.edu 10 years ago, or just getting started at yahoo.com. I don't think they had "accounts" til much, much later.

      http://docs.yahoo.com/info/misc/history.html

      Just a little historical eyebrow-raise. Unless your name happens to be "Jerry Yang" or "David Filo", in which case, my apologies.

      -h3

  2. Unable to verify... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Please note: I've not been able to verify this one way or another.

    But I won't let that stop me from posting it! ;)

    1. Re:Unable to verify... by WormholeFiend · · Score: 2, Funny

      Color me tinfoil, but it suspiciously looks like Hemos is fishing for a Gmail invite.

  3. No world record there by Moblaster · · Score: 2, Funny

    Hotmail is still not as efficient at blocking Gmail as Internet Explorer is efficient at unblocking pop-ups.

  4. I don't want to be nasty, but ... by ezzzD55J · · Score: 5, Funny
    Please note: I've not been able to verify this one way or another.
    Did anyone expect you to ;) ?
  5. A New Era? by illuminata · · Score: 4, Funny

    Please note: I've not been able to verify this one way or another.

    Are the editors finally trying to verify things around here?

    If that's the case, I commend them.

    --


    Until Slashdot fixes the funny modifier, use insightful or interesting. The poster knows your intentions.
  6. So thats why! by Braingoo · · Score: 2, Funny

    So thats why my G-mail invite never showed up!!

  7. Re:MS & Google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Either that or the Gmail invite reads like:

    LIMITED TIME OFFER!

    NATURAL ENHANCEMENT!

    ABOUT YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT

    FREE FREE FREE FREE

    SIGN UP NOW!

    http://gmail.com

    For more info, I send you this file in order to have your advice.

  8. /dev/null by dimss · · Score: 2, Funny

    It looks like Hotmail staff finelly discovered procmail and /dev/null.

  9. Hmm, better test my account then by SnappingTurtle · · Score: 1, Funny
    Send an invitation to miko at rescuemission dot net. We need to make sure this problem gets cleared up.

    --
    I've found that my posts don't format quite right w/o a sig.
  10. Unfortunate legal names by 192939495969798999 · · Score: 4, Funny

    It's possible that the blocking is happening because of some poor sap's unfortunate legal name. He might actually be named "Instant Winner", or "Free Vacation". Crazy hippies.

    --
    stuff |
  11. Re:Dunno about you lot but... by orin · · Score: 3, Funny

    I tested this also. No problem. Gmail to Hotmail took the same time as my ISP to Hotmail.

    When this story was sitting in the queue, didn't is just sound a bit "too good to be true" (from the conspiracy side of things)?

    Finally - should we be getting a Gmail icon with all of these Gmail stories?

    1. Make Slashdot Joke.
    2. ?????
    3. Get Gmail Invite!!!!

  12. Please note: I've not been able to verify this one by jotaeleemeese · · Score: 2, Funny

    Or in other words, you are practicing the old time honoured passtime of spreading a rumour.

    Great work.

    --
    IANAL but write like a drunk one.
  13. Re:Blog crap by black+mariah · · Score: 4, Funny
    blogs are the equivalent of public urination on the web
    You've managed to put into words the things I've been feeling for years. *sniff* I love you, man! *CRIES*
    --
    'Standards' in computing only impress those who are impressed by things like 'standards'.
  14. Re:Dunno about you lot but... by TheLinuxWarrior · · Score: 2, Funny
    You can send an invite to my yahoo account.

    Purely in the interest of "research" of course. ;)

  15. Re:Blog crap by whereiswaldo · · Score: 2, Funny

    When are people going to realize that blogs are the equivalent of public urination on the web.

    That would explain the spotty coverage.

  16. Re:Blog crap by Tom7 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Your mistake is believing that Slashdot posting the story somehow elevates its fact status. If blogs are public urination, Slashdot is public urination from a big, incontinent man with polyuria.

  17. I will test it if you send the invite by Linuxathome · · Score: 2, Funny

    Quick, someone send me a gmail invite to my email at : gmailme ATT linuxathome DOTT c o m. I'll forward it to my yahoo and hotmail account and will post the results here. Okay, okay, this is a desperate attempt to get a gmail invite, but it's worth a try right?

  18. Clever ... by Mostly+a+lurker · · Score: 4, Funny

    Someone has found a way to make lots of ./ers admit to using Hotmail.

  19. Suddenly... by vinlud · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...half of Slashdots userbase appears to have a Hotmail address??

    --
    Repeat after me: We are all individuals
  20. Re:MS & Google by kiskoa · · Score: 2, Funny

    Consider how safe your data is in a Microsoft proprietary format.

    It's the safest! No one ever can read it! ;]

    --
    If Yoda so strong in Force is, why words in right order he cannot put?
  21. Re:Yep. It's true. by whisper_jeff · · Score: 3, Funny
    Needless to say, I'll be ditching Hotmail within 24 hours. This makes me incredibly angry.

    HULK SMASH PUNY HOTMAIL ACCOUNT!!
    RAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!

    whatever...

  22. Me Thinks He Wants An Invite... by pdxmac · · Score: 2, Funny

    Please note: I've not been able to verify this one way or another.

    Yeah, I think that's the crux of it.

    Actually, when a kind slashdotter sent me an invite, Yahoo didn't move it or block it...

  23. WHAT IS A GMAIL INVITE? by lcsjk · · Score: 3, Funny

    Sorry, but I seem to be on the trailing edge of technology today. What is this invite stuff? Seems I don't get invited to nothing anymore!

    1. Re:WHAT IS A GMAIL INVITE? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      If you're feeling generous, oneandonlyice@yahoo.com

      Thanks.

    2. Re:WHAT IS A GMAIL INVITE? by HTMLSpinnr · · Score: 2, Funny

      Just watching all of the AC's reply to this with email addresses is hillarious. How many spmamers want to flood these accounts today? :-)

      --
      $ man woman *
      -bash: /usr/bin/man: Argument list too long
    3. Re:WHAT IS A GMAIL INVITE? by Steeplerot · · Score: 2, Funny

      Send me a gmail invite plz cuz teh chixx0rz will waNt my pen0r then kthaNX steeplerot@yahoo.com

      --
      Vaughn "Its always darkest before it goes pitch black."
    4. Re:WHAT IS A GMAIL INVITE? by NemosomeN · · Score: 4, Funny

      I would like an invite, send it to nNOSPAMeNOSPAMmREMOVEoTAKE-OUTsDON'T-TYPE-THIS-PAR ToI-LIKE-CHEESEmFISHeHEADSn AT yTAKE-ME-OUTahoTO-THE-BALLGAMEo.com

      ------
      Note, taking out the bullshit won't get a real email address.

      --
      I hate grammar Nazi's.
  24. Re:I hate liberals by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Isn't it nice to have someone to hate
    Isn't it nice to beat 'em in to a pulp

    That guy ain't like you
    Hurry, take him out
    It's as good as sex
    To kick the fucker about

  25. Re: For me??? by mindseye1 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Just to let you know, it was my birthday just a couple days ago. In case any of you had forgotten to get me something, I have a GOOD suggestion!
    It's cheap
    It's fun
    It's timeless
    It's a Gmail invitation!!! Yeah!

    ryankelley at comcast dot net
    if yer feelin generous!