Difficulties with Forum Notifications for Members with a Hotmail Address

**Aragorn** · 12th April 2018, 16:59

Greetings Everyone,

We apologize for forcing this thread upon you, but we have been apprised of a problem with notification emails from the server, and specifically, by members whose account here at The One Truth is linked to a Hotmail address. Given that Hotmail has in the meantime been rebranded as outlook.com, the problem will probably exist for members who've signed up here with an outlook.com email address as well.

The problem as reported to us is that notification emails regarding updates to forums or threads that the members are subscribed to, as well as notification emails regarding new private messages or regarding being quoted by another member, are all automatically being routed to the spam folders of members whose account at The One Truth is linked to a Hotmail (or outlook.com) address. And given that not everyone checks their spam folder every day — let alone every couple of hours — this is a major problem.

Now, Hotmail/outlook.com is owned by Microsoft, and so we've contacted Microsoft about this problem, but in their good tradition, their suggested solution to the problem is a very braindead one, namely that each individual member with a Hotmail/outlook.com email address must add The One Truth to a whitelist in their own outlook.com settings.

Luckily enough, Microsoft's support site did offer the instructions on how to do this, and so I am going to include the instructions here-below.


	Log into your outlook.com account. Click on the Gear Icon (settings icon). Click on Options. Under Preventing junk mail, Click on Safe and blocked senders. Click on Safe senders. Add webmaster@jandeane81.com to mark as safe. Click on Add to list.

The above should remedy the problem, but it is of course a ridiculous issue, given that there is no valid reason as to why outlook.com would automatically be routing emails sent from our server to your spam folder. Alas, this is the way it is — it is after all Microsoft we're dealing with here.

Should any of you experience similar problems with any other online email providers, then please contact one of the staff members about it, and then we'll see what we can do.

With respect,
Aragorn.

**Emil El Zapato** · 12th April 2018, 18:03

F.W.I.W.

My home account was fine...Outlook.com...methinks!

**Dumpster Diver** · 12th April 2018, 19:07

Well, it looks like we won’t have to worry about MicroSoft Vacuums for a while...

**Aragorn** · 12th April 2018, 19:17

Originally posted by Dumpster Diver

Well, it looks like we won’t have to worry about MicroSoft Vacuums for a while...

When I contacted their support, they had me talking — well, typing, actually — to an A.I. So I explained as best I could, in unmistakable, unambiguous and grammatically correct language, what the problem was. It then threw up some reply that had nothing to do with what I had just typed, and then it asked me by way of a dialog box whether that answer was helpful. So I clicked "No".

It then threw up a thread from their support forum with a similar problem as what I had just described, but coming from a recruitment agency of some sorts. They were having the same problem as us, i.e. their emails were delivered to their contacts' spam folders. And so that's where I then got the instructions on how to whitelist The One Truth in one's Hotmail/outlook.com settings.

**enjoy being** · 12th April 2018, 22:35

I don't know what email I signed up with but I don't want notifications of anything anyway.

**GraceKB** · 12th April 2018, 23:17

The notifications I was getting from Gmail re verifications are gone now.

**Dumpster Diver** · 12th April 2018, 23:23

While we are talking about dumb tech stuff, can we move the “mark all threads as read” button somewhere else. I hit it all the time when refreshing “This Weeks posts”.

Then I’ve got to reread all the threads and I’m tempted to post my usual inane, sarcastic posts...which I always fall prey to.

**Aragorn** · 13th April 2018, 09:25

Originally posted by GraceKB

The notifications I was getting from Gmail re verifications are gone now.

That's because the change that Malc made to the way the forum sends out notifications has been reverted back to how it used to be.

As per the advice from the company where the server of The One Truth is hosted, Malc had switched the sending of notifications over to an SMTP ("small mail transfer protocol") process that was external to the forum software, and this external SMTP had not been properly configured. That's what caused you to see those GMail warnings.

But so now our notifications are sent out by the forum software itself again.

Originally posted by Dumpster Diver

While we are talking about dumb tech stuff, can we move the “mark all threads as read” button somewhere else. I hit it all the time when refreshing “This Weeks posts”.

Then I’ve got to reread all the threads and I’m tempted to post my usual inane, sarcastic posts...which I always fall prey to.

I'll see what I can do.

Update: I have slightly reorganized the tabs on the navigation bar and the links underneath. The Unread Posts link has now been promoted to a tab on the navigation bar itself, so if you now still accidentally hit the "Mark All Threads As Read" link while looking for new posts, then you've got butter on your fingers, and then there is nothing more that I can do to help you until you've washed your hands with soap.

**Dumpster Diver** · 13th April 2018, 15:00

Originally posted by Aragorn

That's because the change that Malc made to the way the forum sends out notifications has been reverted back to how it used to be.

As per the advice from the company where the server of The One Truth is hosted, Malc had switched the sending of notifications over to an SMTP ("small mail transfer protocol") process that was external to the forum software, and this external SMTP had not been properly configured. That's what caused you to see those GMail warnings.

But so now our notifications are sent out by the forum software itself again.

I'll see what I can do.

Update: I have slightly reorganized the tabs on the navigation bar and the links underneath. The Unread Posts link has now been promoted to a tab on the navigation bar itself, so if you now still accidentally hit the "Mark All Threads As Read" link while looking for new posts, then you've got butter on your fingers, and then there is nothing more that I can do to help you until you've washed your hands with soap.

Cool! Washed my hands, but still writing inane posts. I fear that part is permanently broken.

Thanks!

**Emil El Zapato** · 13th April 2018, 19:13

I'm soo confuuused....

Every time you change something it takes me a half hour to figure out what timeline i'm in...not too annoying really. nothing like a little shot of adrenaline to keep one going.

**Gale Frierson** · 13th April 2018, 20:21

Maybe Dumpy needs his mouth washed out; not his hands. eh wot? LOL!

**Dreamtimer** · 13th April 2018, 21:51

**Dumpster Diver** · 14th April 2018, 02:21

Originally posted by NotAPretender

I'm soo confuuused....

Every time you change something it takes me a half hour to figure out what timeline i'm in...not too annoying really. nothing like a little shot of adrenaline to keep one going.

No worries, wait a while and we’ll all Mandala Effect together into a main timeline....of course, that’ll result in a change for approx 1/2 of us...so you got a 50-50 chance of another change.