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Responses to Freecycle posts don't reach authors of the posts


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#1
TooNew2

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Years ago I joined some local Freecycle groups which at the time used the Yahoo Group system. A year or more ago, the local groups had to switch to using the official Freecycle network. Since about that time, messages I try to send to originators of a post never seem to reach the poster, even if I was the poster of that "ad", sending a test message to myself!

 

I am running a laptop with Windows 7 using either IE 11 or Firefox 38.3.0. My mail is with Yahoo through AT&T. I only access new Freecycle posts by going to the freecycle site, selecting a specific local group, and reading the posts ('ads') there. When responding, I usually center-click to open an interesting ad in a new tab, then click on the "Reply" button to get a response box which I type in, and then hit the "Send" button, after which a new message shows up saying my message was successfully sent. I get the same result, and have the same problem, whether using IE or Firefox to access Freecycle from.

 

 

When I post ads, I do (at least sometimes) get responses from other members, these coming as Emails from the Freecycle system which forwards them "anonymously". My responses to those Emails seem to get through, or at least did some of the time in the last year.

 

My Yahoo mail system has a main address, a secondary address and various "pseudo-addresses" = "disposable" addresses, all of which can be filtered on incoming mail and sent to specific mail folders. For many years I have been using a few pseudo-addresses  at different websites and for various purposes, all with no previous problems. I had been using one address here for years, but switched after the FC provider change; changing back, which I tried, doesn't improve the situation.

 

Some while ago, I contacted Freecycle about this problem but was told that my messages are all going through their system. A local Freecycle moderator suggested my using a Yahoo System checking tool, which I was not impressed with and which found nothing wrong. AT&T tech people have no suggestions, and nobody from Yahoo can be contacted directly; Yahoo has neither a phone number or an Email address, and I doubt I could get through the front door of its headquarters building ether.

 

Does anyone have any ideas about this problem, where to go and/or what to look for to determine where/why it is occurring?

 

Thanks

 

 

 

 


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#2
SpywareDr

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Same problem when using a whoever@Gmail.com or whomever@Outlook.com email address?


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#3
TooNew2

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Same problem when using a whoever@Gmail.com or whomever@Outlook.com email address?

 

I don't have any such accounts, for various (including privacy) reasons, so I can't test it. Since my messages, as posted within the Freecycle site, don't reach the OP's of other ads and my mail system isn't involved with any of that, even if using Outlook could solve part of the problem, how could it affect this aspect?

 

Thanks for considering the problem though.


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#4
SpywareDr

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1) Gmail and Outlook accounts are free and easy to setup, 2) You do not have to use your real name with either, and 3) When you're done with the test, simply abandon the email address, (or delete the acount).

 

The only reason for the suggestion was to find out if the problem might be because you're using a @yahoo.com email address. (Such a problem with @yahoo.com is far from uncommon). If the @gmail.com or @outlook.com email address did work okay, you'd have your answer.

 

It was just a thought. And ignoring it sure won't hurt my feelings. <shrug> :)


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#5
TooNew2

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I do understand the reason and what it would tell me, but don't see how that would help me much with the other half of the problem, as mentioned above. Can you explain that? Where would I go  to solve that aspect, even if I could get my own replies to my own ads by using another address?


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#6
SpywareDr

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Maybe something on the site is interfering with some/all @yahoo.com email addresses?


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#7
TooNew2

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I suppose that's possible and that was what I first assumed, but when I talked to people from the Freecycle site, they assured me that all my messages were going through the system. Also, not everybody uses Yahoo and since the change of the local F.C. groups from using the Yahoo system to using Freecysle's system, I don't think any of my replies to other poster's ads have been responded to, implying that none of my replies are getting through to the OP's, even those not using Yahoo.

 

I looked at settings re firewalls/security, etc. on my system but found nothing which seemed to be causing problems, and some temporary changes didn't produce results wrt this problem. I am no expert on the subject, however.

 

Maybe I should query Freecycle again, hoping for some other  person/tech to investigate, and perhaps get different results? 


Edited by TooNew2, 11 November 2015 - 01:21 PM.

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#8
SpywareDr

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One way to know for sure if it's related to @yahoo.com is to simply try an alternative. <shrug>


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#9
paws

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Just to add my two pennyworth,
the suggestion to try a different email like for example Hotmail (outlook.com) or even gmail is a good one.... it will only take you a minute or two to set up and if your emails start to arrive at fellow freecyclers inboxes, at least you will know where you are!
 
I'ts possible that some mail from yahoo servers is being blocked..... yahoo is a favourite of some spammers and some spam filters may be inadvertently catching your legitimate emails and preventing folks from receiving them.
 
As always, of course, its your call...
Regards
paws
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#10
TooNew2

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Just to add my two pennyworth,
the suggestion to try a different email like for example Hotmail (outlook.com) or even gmail is a good one.... it will only take you a minute or two to set up and if your emails start to arrive at fellow freecyclers inboxes, at least you will know where you are!
 
I'ts possible that some mail from yahoo servers is being blocked..... yahoo is a favourite of some spammers and some spam filters may be inadvertently catching your legitimate emails and preventing folks from receiving them.
 
As always, of course, its your call...
Regards
paws

 

Let me be a bit more clear about what I said earlier; for various reasons, on this current system I can't add other Email accounts.

 

Also, I still haven't gotten an explanation how Yahoo should affect messages I'm entering into a response box while at the Freecycle site. But...suppose it were doing so; what would I then do to fix the problem, or at least where would I start?

 

I have attached some screenshots to show what the Freecycle site looks like; the top of one group's main List page, top and lower views of one posted ad, the reply-to-post box I get, and the message which next appears after I click Send.

 

Attached Thumbnails

  • Freecycle List .jpg
  • Post, top view .jpg
  • Post, bottom view .jpg
  • Post, with reply box .jpg
  • Freecycle Sent Message Notice 6-23-15 .png

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#11
paws

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I think if you really want to get to the bottom of it then ....

 

for various reasons, on this current system I can't add other Email accounts.

 

Then try  a different system..... either your own, or borrow one from a chum, then set up a Hotmail (Outlook.com) account or gmail or whatever and use that for a good trial.

 

The explanation already provided may give you a clue......its possible that one of the many servers involved in the "chain" that is used in sending a message from A to B is collecting the message via its Spam filter and that could be why  they are not getting through...

 

If you start using an alternative  account and give it a good trial and it fixes the issue then you will have made progress.

 

If it doesn't fix the issue then you will still have made progress as you will have eliminated a likely suspect and can move on and focus your attentions elsewhere.

 

As always of course, its your machine, and your call.

Regards

paws


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#12
TooNew2

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I think if you really want to get to the bottom of it then ....

 

for various reasons, on this current system I can't add other Email accounts.

 

Then try  a different system..... either your own, or borrow one from a chum, then set up a Hotmail (Outlook.com) account or gmail or whatever and use that for a good trial.

 

The explanation already provided may give you a clue......its possible that one of the many servers involved in the "chain" that is used in sending a message from A to B is collecting the message via its Spam filter and that could be why  they are not getting through...

 

If you start using an alternative  account and give it a good trial and it fixes the issue then you will have made progress.

 

If it doesn't fix the issue then you will still have made progress as you will have eliminated a likely suspect and can move on and focus your attentions elsewhere.

 

As always of course, its your machine, and your call.

Regards

paws

 

I don't have another running system, don't have any friends from whom I can borrow a computer or who will do the test for me, the libraries don't allow setting up new accounts on their machines even if it were safe to do, and as for your last point, that isn't accurate either although I won't go into the details. I also don't intend to buy a computer just to test the theory.

 

 

I am still waiting for an answer to the question of where wrt the statement  "you...can move on and focus your attentions elsewhere".

 

Thanks for responding


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#13
SpywareDr

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No one here has access to AT&T, Freecycle and/or Yahoo servers. Nor do we have access to any of the servers that your Yahoo email might travel through on its varying path across the internet. In fact, I know of no one single entity that would have access to everything between the server(s) you are sending your email from, then on across the who knows who's servers on the internet and then finally onto the email server on the destination end. Because of ALL of this, and because Yahoo email is long infamous for having/causing occasional problem, the most sensible first step to resolving your problem is to find some way to determine if the problem lies with the simple fact that you are using Yahoo email. My wife and I also use Freecycle and have never had a single, solitary problem with any of our Gmail, Outlook.com nor work email addresses.


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#14
TooNew2

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I didn't expect anyone here to have access to any of the involved servers, although I have known one or two people who probably did in the course of their work.

I was partly hoping someone reading this here might have some kind of connection such as an 'inside' phone number at Yahoo or Freecycle,that would allow me to contact a responsible person, perhaps an upper manager or higher, who could look into the situation. I know from messages I've gotten from a few other users that I'm not the only one having recent problems with Freecycle.

 

A number of other events have occurred recently and others are coming to a head, so I'm not going to have any more time to pursue this problem for a good while.

 

Again, thanks for the consideration by all who participated.


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#15
SpywareDr

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There is NO one, at any company, (including Marissa Mayer, president and CEO of Yahoo), that would, or even could, trace your email problem, step by step, through all of the electronic equipment involved in moving your email across the internet.

 

"Why not?" Simply because there is NO single entity that owns, or has access to all of the equipment involved in moving your email across the internet.

 

Even if they did, they certainly would not be able to, or even afford to be on the phone with every individual across the planet that is having a problem. Think about it.


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