MSN Issues are Affecting Software Credibility

[Tomas Gutierrez]

Hello,

I've been trying to follow up and help to solve the issues with MSN,
but at this point I feel like they are not getting the attention they
need and are just getting pushed aside. I'm writing this to raise
awareness and see if we can get this solved to help support Pidgin's
credibility.

There are various issues I'm referring to, and I have a feeling they
are related. They surfaced, I believe, after 2.4.2. These have been
reproduced in the following scenarios:

•	Linux (Ubuntu) && Linux (Ubuntu) && Windows (SP2): /Wired/Wireless/OTR/Non-OTR
•	Windows (SP2) && Linux (Ubuntu) && Windows
(SP2):/Wired/Wireless/OTR/Non-OTR/Simp/Non-simp

First, there is the constant disconnect issue. When one is lucky
enough to connect to the MSN servers, the connection bounces
periodically (about once every 10 minutes). The only way to connect is
to use the HTTP method, otherwise the system won't even connect. This
has been brought up as support tickets, and I also found mention of
this in the support email archive. For example, ticket 6136, or
http://pidgin.im/pipermail/support/2008-August/001920.html
(http://pidgin.im/pipermail/support/2008-August/001935.html),
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=871929.

Second, there is a problem with messages failing to be delivered, or
bouncing back. Sometimes an error regarding the switchboard comes up,
other times, it just says that the message failed to be delivered.
Most worrisome is the fact that sometimes the messages are just not
delivered, without any errors coming up. This has caused, and will
continue causing, actual communication problems which can have serious
repercussions. Especially for people using this for sensitive
communications (work comes to mind). Again, this has been around in
the support tickets for a while: 6776.

As hinted at before, this is causing serious usability issues for
people. So much so that a couple people from work have decided to move
to other alternatives (after I convinced them to give this a try).
They loved it for a while, but if it becomes unstable, it's no longer
an option.

Again, the purpose of this email is to raise awareness to these
issues, and the usability and credibility problems they are causing.
I'm eager to see this fixed, as well as to help in any capacity I'm
able to. Discuss away, and contact me if I can help.

Regards,

Tomás