Diminishing Returns
Hotmail has my panties in a bunch. On one hand, it hosts the only stable email address I’ve had over the best several years. On the other, I just can’t stand it anymore.
Let me explain.
In the past I’ve been able to look past some of its problems; the fact that it’s free certainly helps. The storage limit is low at an attachment clenching 2 MB. Export options, which basically involve using Outlook or Outlook Express to download your mail, are at best clumsy. And, when you get down to it, I can’t forget that it is owned by Microsoft. You can almost feel the dark side calling.
Still, my Hotmail account has served me well. I can get to my email from home, work, or, in the past, school. Ads can be easily ignored. Any games of ISP roulette that I play remain invisible to my friends because my email isn’t tied to any particular service provider.
It’s their junk mail system that really bothers me. Junk mail options fall into three categories: let it all in, try to stop some of it, or only let in things from a known source. I ruled out the last option because the limits it places on who can send me mail are too constricting. I’ve played with options one and two and I can’t tell the difference. I still get a lot of junk mail even if Microsoft claims that they are trying to help.
So I switched to plan two: the blacklist. Hotmail will let you block incoming mail by both by individual address or domain. However, all is still not well. Blocking a specific address is a waste of time. This may counter the occasional piece of relayed mail from a bogus yahoo or hotmail account but, in general, the spammers are way too smart to let one address get in their way. Is 1@youwannabuy.com blocked? Let’s try 2@youwannabuy.com. Blocking an entire domain is definitely the way to go.
That too isn’t without its faults, the biggest of which is that there’s a limit to the number of domains you can block. I’ve now reached that limit and that is my problem. Leaks have sprung in the flood gates. It is only a matter of time before spam comes crashing through.
Microsoft would be happy to offer a solution to my problem for a mere $19.95 a year. This is unacceptable. I know. I know. This is the new age of the internet. Nothing is free. That may be true, but I won’t buy into a service because it is growing worse. I just can’t do it. The fact that their solution stinks doesn’t help.
By now, I would think that Microsoft would have its act together. How about maintaining a master list of sites to block? A good list is surely easy to find. Besides a couple of legal issues, why not allow users to block bad offenders from a public list automagically?
What about offering algorithmic tools? My recently purchased domain offers such a feature. The included Spam Assasin tool is a gift from the heavens. It will even tell you why something was rejected and include the original mail as an attachment, stopping the offending mail from communicating back to its master.
Here, check out this cool sample. You know you want to.
Sadly, none of these options are available. A little more storage and the removal the block cap is all they offer. Big deal.
If you haven’t guessed by now (and you should have since I gave it away), I’m changing my email address. No longer will I suffer under Microsoft’s tyranny. I will clear my own path, incidentally under my own domain. If you have my hotmail address, please stop using it. My new email address is my name at thewoottons.com. The wife has a similar address. (Note that the addresses above are carefully edited to stop bots from coming by and sending me more spam. Put it all together yourself. If you can’t, give me a ring, I’ll spell it out for you.)
I’ve already begun the transfer process. Those web sites that I actually request mail from have been notified. Now, so have you. My hotmail account now sports about one piece of desired mail for every ten pieces of junk. I’ll be happy to leave it behind and I soon will.
