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Perhaps it was a mistake to start discussing email clients in the other thread!
Any update on the email outage please?
Is service likely to return before 5pm?
Any update on the email outage please?
Is service likely to return before 5pm?
[s]Hmmm...[/s] Page:
Thanks for the update as always Warhunt.
Just to let you know I'm still seeing some intermittent failures picking up my email this morning.
It doesn't say anywhere that investigations are still continuing but I'm sure they are :¬)
Just to let you know I'm still seeing some intermittent failures picking up my email this morning.
It doesn't say anywhere that investigations are still continuing but I'm sure they are :¬)
[s]Hmmm...[/s] 
The issue was caused by the heavy users. It's because the amount of people "overchecking" has increased to an unacceptable level recently.
If my earlier responses seem to confuse this issue, it was only to avoid trying to blame users for something that 99% of them had no control over/were not doing intentionally.
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To give you an example a range of 10 IP addresses managed to clock up over 31,000 connections in the space of about 6-8 hours. (Not even the highest 10)
We have apologised whenever possible about the IP addresses being blocked, and we understand this was a drastic action. People need to understand however is it was necassary.
Think of it from a logistical/business point of view. 100 users (example figure) are causing incredible delays/complete downtime on the server for 100,000 customers. To get the servers back up and functional (ASAP) the action needed to be taken.
In an ideal world we would have contacted each and every customer by phone/mail and pre-warned them, however this was not possible. We did what we could after we resumed service for 99.5% of our email customer base.
Again our apologies if this doesn't seem like a viable course of action to any customer.
[s] I've tried to give info here as clear as I can. Remember though that the forums are not really the place for full on support. Rather just me trying to explain and help out a bit.
If my earlier responses seem to confuse this issue, it was only to avoid trying to blame users for something that 99% of them had no control over/were not doing intentionally.
----------------------------------
To give you an example a range of 10 IP addresses managed to clock up over 31,000 connections in the space of about 6-8 hours. (Not even the highest 10)
We have apologised whenever possible about the IP addresses being blocked, and we understand this was a drastic action. People need to understand however is it was necassary.
Think of it from a logistical/business point of view. 100 users (example figure) are causing incredible delays/complete downtime on the server for 100,000 customers. To get the servers back up and functional (ASAP) the action needed to be taken.
In an ideal world we would have contacted each and every customer by phone/mail and pre-warned them, however this was not possible. We did what we could after we resumed service for 99.5% of our email customer base.
Again our apologies if this doesn't seem like a viable course of action to any customer.
[s] I've tried to give info here as clear as I can. Remember though that the forums are not really the place for full on support. Rather just me trying to explain and help out a bit.
Hi munter and welcome to the forums.
After reading the bits posted here I was under the impression that the problem was due to email volumes and the additional stress on the servers caused by some users checking for mail frequently was just found while people were investigating the problem and wasn't the actual cause.
But no doubt it's a contributing factor while the mail servers are struggling to keep up?
So I agree your email could have been worded better, unless the situation has changed.
I can see your point (chicken/egg) about not receiving your email through the normal means! I mentioned earlier here that not all users will be aware of this forum or the Status page - but I guess drastic times means drastic measures.
Another reason why I'm always lurking around here to keep my finger on the pulse!
I didn't get a warning but have many accounts, so I've increased the time my accounts check for mail (5>10 mins). If nothing else this stops the error messages interrupting me so frequently while this issue is on-going.
Other bits...
I can't work out what these people on Twitter are discussing twitter.com/#!/seenxu/status/2656523859787776 hopefully all innocent and not about to start more email abuse...
After reading the bits posted here I was under the impression that the problem was due to email volumes and the additional stress on the servers caused by some users checking for mail frequently was just found while people were investigating the problem and wasn't the actual cause.
But no doubt it's a contributing factor while the mail servers are struggling to keep up?
So I agree your email could have been worded better, unless the situation has changed.
I can see your point (chicken/egg) about not receiving your email through the normal means! I mentioned earlier here that not all users will be aware of this forum or the Status page - but I guess drastic times means drastic measures.
Another reason why I'm always lurking around here to keep my finger on the pulse!
I didn't get a warning but have many accounts, so I've increased the time my accounts check for mail (5>10 mins). If nothing else this stops the error messages interrupting me so frequently while this issue is on-going.
Other bits...
I can't work out what these people on Twitter are discussing twitter.com/#!/seenxu/status/2656523859787776 hopefully all innocent and not about to start more email abuse...
[s]Hmmm...[/s] 
Maybe I'm the only one to have received this email?
"The cause of the problem has been identified as a small number of account connecting to the mail server unusually frequently, therefore negatively affecting the performance of the server for all users"
"This e-mail account ([email protected]) has been identified by engineers as once of the accounts which appears to be connecting at an unusually high rate."
"Please note that we reserve the right to withdraw use of our services if they are causing unacceptable demands on our infrastructure which is to the detriment of other users."
When I say received, I mean of course that I used webmail - since my IP had already been banned.
To me this email didn't suggest that there's a repairable fault of any kind - it simply said that I was the cause of the entire problem.
As I said last time, I fully understand that any ISP is going to have outages, and for several years I've been happy with Freeola, to the point of recommending them to many people.
What I didn't like is having my IP address banned (note BANNED, not simply unable to connect) without any warning.
"The cause of the problem has been identified as a small number of account connecting to the mail server unusually frequently, therefore negatively affecting the performance of the server for all users"
"This e-mail account ([email protected]) has been identified by engineers as once of the accounts which appears to be connecting at an unusually high rate."
"Please note that we reserve the right to withdraw use of our services if they are causing unacceptable demands on our infrastructure which is to the detriment of other users."
When I say received, I mean of course that I used webmail - since my IP had already been banned.
To me this email didn't suggest that there's a repairable fault of any kind - it simply said that I was the cause of the entire problem.
As I said last time, I fully understand that any ISP is going to have outages, and for several years I've been happy with Freeola, to the point of recommending them to many people.
What I didn't like is having my IP address banned (note BANNED, not simply unable to connect) without any warning.
Do other ISP's never have technical issues then ? or a forum that staff have updated to let us know we not being ignored ?.Freeola are very aware of this problem and I'm sure the guys are working very hard to get it fixed ASAP.I have dealt with technical support at a few ISP's and Freeola are by the far the best I have come across.I am a customer myself,our family have 3 connections in total (one of which is used for small business use) and this issue has also effected us.
I believe the situation has probably been explained to you in a lot more detail than you have really suggested here.
You are more than welcome to vent valid frustrations (and believe me we do sympathise) but please try and avoid simulating situations.
You are more than welcome to vent valid frustrations (and believe me we do sympathise) but please try and avoid simulating situations.
plj wrote:
email problems
the problems seem to be getting worse with freeola as time goes on - lots of problems over the last month! I am paying for advanced email protection and that is certainly not working although i am getting emails. Is anyone thinking of another supplier ?
Yes, I am - first thing tomorrow. My mail server connects every three minutes - and has done for 24 hours per day for the last five years.
Then, suddenly, I received an email from Freeola today virtually accusing me of abusing the system, and my email access was cut off - no warning and no apology.
I can understand that freeola may be having technical problems - but I don't appreciate being personally blamed for them, and being summarily cut off. I run a small company and a day without email is more than a slight inconvenience.
I will now be looking for an ISP who don't decide to change their terms of use overnight and cut off - without warning - a prev iously loyal customer.
email problems
the problems seem to be getting worse with freeola as time goes on - lots of problems over the last month! I am paying for advanced email protection and that is certainly not working although i am getting emails. Is anyone thinking of another supplier ?
Yes, I am - first thing tomorrow. My mail server connects every three minutes - and has done for 24 hours per day for the last five years.
Then, suddenly, I received an email from Freeola today virtually accusing me of abusing the system, and my email access was cut off - no warning and no apology.
I can understand that freeola may be having technical problems - but I don't appreciate being personally blamed for them, and being summarily cut off. I run a small company and a day without email is more than a slight inconvenience.
I will now be looking for an ISP who don't decide to change their terms of use overnight and cut off - without warning - a prev iously loyal customer.
Unfortunately the POP server is having a few problems again this evening, and we've had to take it down to find a resolution to the problems.
Updates will continue to be made via the status page when they are available. No ETR at the moment.
I know the email issues have been going on for a while now, and we really do apologise for the problems being caused for every one of our email customers.
Updates will continue to be made via the status page when they are available. No ETR at the moment.
I know the email issues have been going on for a while now, and we really do apologise for the problems being caused for every one of our email customers.
Hi DL,
Looks like the service is completely down ATM - guess it's not scheduled as there's no message on the Service Status page...
EDIT: Status Page now updated.
Looks like the service is completely down ATM - guess it's not scheduled as there's no message on the Service Status page...
EDIT: Status Page now updated.
[s]Hmmm...[/s] 
Hmmm... wrote:
In other Freeola email news...
Things still aren't back to normal for me I'm afraid.
Emails from an hour ago haven't arrived.
But I've just received two emails from 11.30 this morning that I would have liked much earlier!
Hi Hmmm,
For the first time...mine has just failed! All accounts 'failed to connect'. Was working fine yesterday right up to 10pm. Not checked since then and now no go.
EDIT: Service announcement still reads 5th November :¬(
In other Freeola email news...
Things still aren't back to normal for me I'm afraid.
Emails from an hour ago haven't arrived.
But I've just received two emails from 11.30 this morning that I would have liked much earlier!
Hi Hmmm,
For the first time...mine has just failed! All accounts 'failed to connect'. Was working fine yesterday right up to 10pm. Not checked since then and now no go.
EDIT: Service announcement still reads 5th November :¬(
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