Apr 23, 2001 05:52 AM
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Hotmail was my first online experience. Being a novice, I signed up and happily clicked away. I signed up for this and that free newsletter they provided, thinking I was getting a great deal to get all of this information for free. Unfortunately, my inbox filled up rather quickly and I was forced to delete much of it or it would be deleted for me.
This was where I came to my first problem. In the past, there were many problems deleting messages from your Hotmail account. I'm happy to say though, that this no longer seems to be the case.
I did have a problem unsubscribing to some of the many newsletters though. I had unsubscribed to one of them several times before I finally used the Block Sender feature to block these from my inbox. Another nice feature they have added to their service is the Inbox Protector. This is simply a filter that can be set up to direct spam to either a BulkMail folder or to the trash can. One word of caution though - I did have several messages from friends caught in this filter, so I always have it sent into the BulkMail folder. This folder deletes mail automatically after 14 days, rather than several times weekly like the trash can does.
Hotmail accounts have a 2MB storage quota for your messages. Once that quota is reached, you will receive a message telling you that you must delete some within 5 days or they will delete some for you. That's kind of like having your mom/husband/wife/neighbor/kids tell you that if you don't clean your room, they will throw out whatever they see fit, and not necessarily what you would like removed. For this reason, it is best to check your mail often if you are getting close to the limit.
Another thing to watch out for with your Hotmail account is inactivity. You must log into your new account within the first 10 days after opening it, and at least every 60 days thereafter. If you fail to do this, your account will be tagged as inactive and any saved messages you may have will be deleted. There is no way to recover these messages so it might be better to back up anything important if you use your account infrequently.
The available filters can send any group of messages to whichever folders you choose. Just set your preferences to suit your needs. You can set all messages containing the word MouthShut to your MouthShut folder, or all messages from johndoe@spammer.com to your trash can. These filter settings are in addition to your inbox protector and your block sender features.
The address book is also a nice feature, making it easier to keep track of all of your online contacts. Just click on the address book and add their addresses to the message you are composing, then send it on it's way. What could be easier?
Before the upgrades, Hotmail used to be slow and clumsy with constant errors. Lately though, they seem to have most of the bugs worked out. I'd have to give them the award for the most improved website in a while.
Though I wouldn't recommend their service for a webmaster or anyone else who gets large quantities of email. The storage space is simply not adequate for the amount of mail I receive. For those casual email users though, I think that Hotmail would work quite nicely for your needs.
