On: Hotmail development team on Reddit

[benologist]

There's internet, even in Africa! If you completely disconnect in this day and age for 9 months you're probably dead.

[cryptoz → benologist]

That's really not the point, though. Microsoft wrote code that will intentionally delete your email. It doesn't matter how unlikely that is or how bizarre the scenario is, that fact means I'll never use the service or recommend it to anyone. What if there's a bug in that code? Why risk writing code that deletes emails left and right? What's the point?

The Devs said "we’d love your feedback", and when people say "please don't ever delete my email", the response is basically "too bad, you have 270 days". It's insulting.

[benologist → cryptoz]

What's a reasonable amount of time to assume a user has left and isn't coming back? Why should they hold data forever when for whatever reason it looks like you've abandoned it?

[ars → benologist]

1 Year.

There are many people who make event specific emails addresses. These events are annual, so they use the email yearly.

[ekanes → ars]

1 year is still far too short (and only a touch longer than the current 270 days). 5 years is more reasonable. It costs them so very little to keep the data, and it costs people so dearly to lose emotionally important stuff over a technicality.

[ars → ekanes]

That's not what I meant.

Email should be kept forever. I meant if you don't log in for a year they can delete the account.

[potatolicious → ars]

I disagree. I can see them freezing the account - i.e. rejecting further mail to it. But if I come back after a year, I fully expect to be able to say "hey guys, I'm back, can I have my emails now?" and get at it.

Data storage is ludicrously cheap that I don't understand why there's a need at all.

[benologist → potatolicious]

Data storage is ludicrously cheap unless you cater to more people than most countries have. Years of email times 10s or 100s of millions of people probably isn't that cheap.

Drop Box reserves the right to delete free accounts after just 90 days. Is that unreasonable? Hell no. I bet they don't hold your stuff forever in case you do pay that overdue bill one day too.

[kenjackson → ars]

I'd make it two years since sometimes things are off by a week or two.

Additionally, they should not delete any existing mail, but instead move all new mail at that point to spam, which I think gets deleted in one month.

This way you never lose anything you actually know about. And you have recent email just sent to you. The cost of this should be very low.

[jellicle → cryptoz]

It's unlikely that the developers were the ones making that decision, you know. You're shooting the messengers.

[viraptor → benologist]

I'm pretty sure you can in most places that are not extremely remote. However I disagree about the "probably dead" comment. Only so many people are connected every day to check their emails. I know many who think once a month or so - "I haven't checked my email for a while". Not all people feel a need to carry a 3g-enabled phone with them, or do silly stuff like have an instant messanger...

I expect many people to be able to completely ignore their email for a year simply because they have nothing to send and then come back to it. Standard person != tech freak.

[silvestrov → benologist]

Or you could just be burned out and wanting a period without any internet at all to get back on your feet.

9 months is just what it takes to make a baby.

[jasonkester → benologist]

There's a difference between not using the internet and not using hotmail.

I personally log into Hotmail twice a year, specifically to ensure that my account does not get deleted. I have enough things from my past that may or may not try to send me an email at my @hotmail.com address (or require it to get back in to their service) that it's just to risky to lose it.