CENSORSHIP ALERT: AOL/MICROSOFT-HOTMAIL BLOCKING TRUTHOUT.ORG

[redacted]

Currently, AOL- and Microsoft-related email providers, including Hotmail, are preventing delivery of a range of Truthout communications to thousands of our subscribers. Such communications include Truthout's regular newsletters and notifications to our subscribers from individual workstations of Truthout administrators informing those subscribers that they are affected.

For the most part, all other ISPs appear to be delivering Truthout communications normally.

While AOL has been largely evasive and silent about their reasons for blocking communications, our server logs and complaints from subscribers illustrate a clear pattern of interference. Microsoft-Hotmail, while not being forthcoming about their actions to the subscribers involved, have stated to our administrators that they are in fact "throttling" and "blocking" our communications.

Further, the Microsoft-Hotmail administrators inform us that they are blocking our communications to Truthout subscribers on their systems due to what they describe as our "reputation."

We believe that you - not your Internet Service Provider - should decide what you will read. In an effort to restore service and send a clear message to the ISPs involved, we ask you to do the following:

1.) Keep us informed. Let us know if your newsletters suddenly stop arriving. We have set up a special email address for those complaints.

2.) It is critically important if it does become clear that you are still on our list, and we are sending to you, that you demand your rights. The only rights you have are the ones you exercise.

MORE, UPDATES
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/091307Z.shtml

[tritsofme]

1. I have been informed by those email providers

That the problem will be resolved within 24 business hours.

[Laurier]

2. More likely, the MS, Hotmail, and AOL spam filters are working.

You know that they respond to the number of people who report incoming mail as spam, right? It's probably just a matter of a lot of people reporting incoming messages from truthout as spam.

But let's see what happens in 24 business hours. Maybe they'll issue a half baked, half assed apology then, along with some vague excuses and promises to address the matter later...and then never address it ever again.

[TheWraith]

5. Preach it.

Look, I'm not in favor of blocking any kind of email based on "reputation" unless it's a known scam or something. But if Truthout wants to protect their reputation, maybe they should actually work on honesty and accuracy instead of trying to gin up sympathy in some supposed censorship problem, for which we only have their untrustworthy word.

[redacted]

6. I think they're talking about truthout's" reputation" in an entirely different sense.

[trumad]

8. I don't know---

I think your post is plain stupid and shouldn't have been allowed by DU.

How do you like them apples?

[formercia]

7. Perhaps it was a deliberate campaign

I have notice other contacts on Yahoo that wound up in the bulk folder because they were tagged as spam. If some administration connected group sent enough 'mark as spam' actions to the provider, the system would deliver the mail to the bulk folder or block it.

[nosmokes]

3. I wouldn't use AOL if they paid me.

If I recall they blocked some other news service in the past I believe, though I might be mistaken.

[clixtox]

4. Absolutely! AOL sucks...

If you do use AOL for some reason be sure to keep a record of all your contacts separate from the account. Print it out or stash the list elsewhere on the net. If you are "terminated" from AOL due to whatever your contact info will be lost and you might be cut off from your friends, etc.

[TwilightZone]

9. It's not censorship, and it's not just truthout.org.

Hundreds, probably thousands, of companies have fallen prey to AOL's overly aggressive spam filters. AOL's primary concern is AOL members getting e-mail to other AOL members. They couldn't care less about e-mail to/from the outside world. This certainly isn't an isolated issue. It's been happening for years.

[redacted]

12. Right. It's de facto censorship.

[BadgerLaw2010]

10. You've apparently e-mailed too many people who didn't want the e-mails. Junk block.

[DemReadingDU]

11. morning kick

[porphyrian]

13. Don't use AOL or Hotmail. Simple.

There are competitively-priced alternatives to AOL, and there are a plethora of free webmail alternatives to Hotmail. Problem not a problem.