Hotmail's standards are higher than mine
By Beth Teitell
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Does my Hotmail know something about me that I don't?
I recently attempted to e-mail two articles to myself. The Hotmail gatekeepers dutifully routed me straight to the junk folder -among the ``CheapViagraNow!'' and ``EarnWhileUSleep'' crowd.
What does Hotmail think I am, I wondered.A perv? Spam? Some sort of scam artist?
``You don't need to put up with abuse like that,'' a friend advised. ``You should switch.''
Maybe, and the idea is tempting, but there are reasons
why people stay in bad relationships. At this point in my life, packing up and
moving is just too exhausting, and besides, Hotmail's the devil I know.
And the price is right, too. On second thought, maybe instead of being defensive, I should thank Hotmail for looking out for me. After all, the articles it sent to the junk folder were ones I'd found when I was working late at night - and on a Sunday.
``Here's a thought,'' my friend said. ``It knows how hard you drive yourself - it can feel that through your fingertips - and it's protecting you.''
If she was right, it meant Hotmail was not some judgmental cold-hearted Internet service, but rather a benificent sage. Clearly, It Knows What's Best for Me, andshould be regularly consulted.
I compiled a list of questions to ask my new guru: ``Should I wear brighter colors?'' ``Do you think highlights are worth the money and time investment?'' ``Low carb or low cal?''
I was actually starting to feel good about being
ushered to the safety of the junk folder, when I told anotherfriend what had happened,
and she noted that ``denial isn't just a river in Egypt.''
Re-angrified, I called Hotmail. As you'd expect, all of the customer care representatives were currently assisting other callers, so I stayed on the line for the next available representative.
I was now in hyper-suspicion mode: Perhaps Hotmail had caller ID, and that my number was on some kind of ``do not answer'' list - the telephone version of junk mail.
Still, I remained on the line (calls are answered in the order in which they're received), and learned that Hotmail offers firewall and virus protection. And Beth Teitell protection, too, apparently.
Finally, a customer care representative, Max, came on the line. ``Why was my own e-mail directed to the junk folder?'' I demanded.
``Because you need to add your e-mail address to the safe list,'' he said, by way of nonexplanation.
In other words: Trust no one, not even yourself.
Max lowered his voice a bit. ``It happened to me also.'' He admitted that he felt kind of bad, but he moved on: ``I just added myself to the safe list and after that I had no problems,'' he said.
None, at least, that they've let him know about.
