[Pidgin] #10681: Has you wrong for MSN contacts

[Pidgin]

#10681: Has you wrong for MSN contacts
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 Reporter:  NishaKitty  |        Owner:  khc
     Type:  defect      |       Status:  new
Milestone:              |    Component:  MSN
  Version:  2.6.3       |   Resolution:     
 Keywords:  Has you     |  
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Comment(by glaubitz):

 Hi,

 Together with a friend, I just did some further experiments with the
 original client today:

 1. Both me and my buddy have been using MSN for a long time and we have
 been on each others buddy list for around 4 years now without any trouble
 with the "Has you" feature, it always showed "Yes" when we were on each
 others list and immediately turned to "No" after removing each other
 (NOTE: the "Has you" status is updated upon re-connecting to MSN)
 2. Both me and my buddy were using exactly the same version of MSN Live
 Messenger: 14.0.8089.726.
 3. We removed each other from the buddy lists which changed "Has you" from
 "Yes" to "No" in Pidgin
 4. Then we added each other again
 5. We both checked in the menu: "Tools"->"Options", then "Privacy" and
 clicking "View"; my buddy did not appear on this list even though he added
 me; the same story on his side, I was not on his list either
 6. However, we are appear definitely on each others contact list in the
 main window, it is just the "Has you" feature which does not work anymore.

 Funnily, at one point, the feature worked again for one second, after I
 performed this step which the Microsoft support told me:

 "Click Start, click Run, copy and paste this message %USERPROFILE%\Local
 Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\ and then press Enter. Delete the
 Windows Live Contacts folder."

 After that, I could check the list in the "Privacy" panel in the "Options"
 window and see my buddy there listed. In Pidgin, it never showed "Has you:
 Yes" though all the time even though the original client did. However,
 after he removed me again, he still appeared in that list. After deleting
 the Windows Live Contacts folder and restarting again, he was gone from
 the list. He removed the folder on his side, too. After adding each other
 again, we couldn't restore the information though. Whatever we did after
 that, we were never able to restore the "Has you" to "Yes", even in the
 original client. So, kind of an Heisenbug.

 Further note: Even though we were both using the original clients and we
 both had removed each other from the contact lists, after I added my buddy
 to MSN, he did NOT receive a contact request on MSN (like it usually
 always worked). Instead, he had to add me to MSN manually, too.

 By the way, the mechanism has definitely worked reliably up to September
 2009. All contacts added up to this time show correctly as "Has you" as
 "Yes". After that date, only some contacts were added correctly (which
 also lets me conclude that this is a server issue). I once had the problem
 with one other friend before but we could resolve this issue by both
 removing and re-adding each other to MSN.

 Conclusion:

 - "Has you" feature does not work reliably anymore, independent from what
 client software is used and what version; not reliably meaning, that
 sometimes it DOES work, but not always
 - deleting the folder %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application
 Data\Microsoft\Windows Live Contacts *may* help to resolve the issue in
 certain cases (like it did for me once) but it does not help pidgin
 - contact requests in MSN aren't send reliably anymore either, regardless
 whether the original client (version tested 14.0.8089.726) is used or a
 third-party client like pidgin
 - the issue is not related to the fact whether someone uses a hotmail
 address for MSN or some random email address (like Gmail)

 From what I have tested, I am very sure that this issue IS server-related
 and NOT a bug in pidgin/libpurple. Other clients, even the official one,
 show the erroneous behaviour as well. In cases were people report that the
 original client still reports that a buddy has added one to his/her
 contact list, he should try removing the Windows Live Contacts folder and
 see if the information is still valid.

 I will confront Microsoft with my results now, again.

 Adrian

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Ticket URL: <http://developer.pidgin.im/ticket/10681#comment:15>
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