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.

Stunning

[Marxist Commentary]

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

Unable to verify...

[Anonymous Coward]

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! ;)

No world record there

[Moblaster]

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

I don't want to be nasty, but ...

[ezzzD55J]

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

Did anyone expect you to ;) ?

A New Era?

[illuminata]

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.

So thats why!

[Braingoo]

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

Re:MS & Google

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

/dev/null

[dimss]

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

Hmm, better test my account then

[SnappingTurtle]

Send an invitation to miko at rescuemission dot net. We need to make sure this problem gets cleared up.

Unfortunate legal names

[192939495969798999]

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.

Re:Dunno about you lot but...

[orin]

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!!!!

Please note: I've not been able to verify this one

[jotaeleemeese]

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

Great work.

Re:Blog crap

[black mariah]

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*

Re:Dunno about you lot but...

[TheLinuxWarrior]

You can send an invite to my yahoo account.

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

Re:Blog crap

[whereiswaldo]

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

That would explain the spotty coverage.

Re:Blog crap

[Tom7]

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.

I will test it if you send the invite

[Linuxathome]

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?

Clever ...

[Mostly a lurker]

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

Re:Stunning

[Anonymous Coward]

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.

Re:Unable to verify...

[WormholeFiend]

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

Suddenly...

[vinlud]

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

Re:Stunning

[MarkPNeyer]

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?

Re:MS & Google

[kiskoa]

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

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

Re:Yep. It's true.

[whisper_jeff]

Needless to say, I'll be ditching Hotmail within 24 hours. This makes me incredibly angry.

HULK SMASH PUNY HOTMAIL ACCOUNT!!
RAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!!!

whatever...

Me Thinks He Wants An Invite...

[pdxmac]

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...

Re:Stunning

[mgrassi99]

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

[e-mail]
[e-mail]

-M

WHAT IS A GMAIL INVITE?

[lcsjk]

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!

Re:Stunning

[Anonymous Coward]

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???

Re:WHAT IS A GMAIL INVITE?

[Anonymous Coward]

If you're feeling generous, [e-mail]

Thanks.

Re:Stunning

[dAzED1]

"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... ;)

Re:Stunning

[NerdSlayer]

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

Re:I hate liberals

[Anonymous Coward]

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

Re:WHAT IS A GMAIL INVITE?

[HTMLSpinnr]

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

Re:Stunning

[ryanwright]

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.

Re:WHAT IS A GMAIL INVITE?

[Steeplerot]

Send me a gmail invite plz cuz teh chixx0rz will waNt my pen0r then kthaNX [e-mail]

Re: For me???

[mindseye1]

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!

Re:Stunning

[BlueJay465]

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!

Re:Stunning

[h3]

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 [yahoo.com]

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

-h3

Re:WHAT IS A GMAIL INVITE?

[NemosomeN]

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

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