For Spectrum Internet customers, we didn't exist for a couple days
On April 7, 2021 between noon and 1pm, BattleBorn.cc was effectively erased from existence for everyone using Spectrum internet service. In fact, all of Sprux LLC (our sponsor and hosting provider) was wiped from Spectrum's internet.
With help from a few heros in the internet plumbing industry, an anonymous tip from an insider, and countless pots of coffee, Spectrum's methodology was identified and a workaround was implemented by our upstream providers. It took 36 hours. The issue was immediately reported to Spectrum but remains unresolved to this day. Spectrum has not even directly acknowledged the issue yet.
Spectrum provides internet service to roughly 30% of the U.S. residential market. In Nevada, Spectrum have little competition and surely enjoy well over 50% of the market. Formerly known as Charter, Spectrum absorbed Cox Cable before merging with Time-Warner and re-branding.
You can listen to Sprux LLC's founder discussing this incident on local talk radio below. The interview aired live on Apr. 11, 2021.
BattleBorn.cc email accounts now include access to a private Jabber/XMPP chat and IM service. Here's how example user with email mistygish@battleborn.cc connected to the chat service using the Pidgin desktop client:
Use your existing email password and your username (email account name) without the @battleborn.cc part. The domain is im.battleborn.cc, and most Jabber apps will figure the rest out automatically.
If you aren't sure how this affects you or why you should care, then it probably doesn't and you can safely ignore this. This service is experimental and support is limited, but you may always email support@battleborn.cc with questions or requests.
Upgrades were performed this week to increase server capacity to keep up with growth. Signups are expected to continue or accelerate in the coming months, so we are actively working on scale-out strategy to support future growth and demand.
They made us jump through several bureaucratic hoops and it took many days, but finally Hotmail/Microsoft removed our IP address from their global block list.
This is the first time in 20 years designing, deploying, and managing internet email services that I have seen anything like this. That is concerning, and it is unclear how anyone benefits from implementing extreme and unprecedented internet policy.
Here's a simple method for automating your inbox management.
Step 1
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Step 3
Emails sent from BattleBorn.cc are being blocked outright by all Microsoft email providers, including:
- Hotmail
- Live.com
- Outlook.com
- MSN.com
This has been ongoing since we launched the service. It is normal for a new service with a new IP address to be blocked by many providers and public block lists, however removal from those lists is simple and quick. Despite numerous appeals and requests, Microsoft refuses to remove us from their block list.
No other email providers are currently blocking our domain or IP address.
We are working to resolve this, but in the meantime we aren't able to contact those of you who have signed up for an account and provided an email at one of the above services. Please try again with a different email address.