in message
When I send emails to hotmail users, I don't seem to get a read or
received
receipt from them. I opened up a hotmail account to test myself, and
send
myself an email from Outlook and no request to send a read or
received was
asked of me... Does hotmail automatically not send out read receipts
to
outlook
If you look in an e-mail account defined in Outlook, there are options
on how to handle read receipts. Most users choose to always ignore
the requests or to prompt when they are received (and the recipient
usually says No when prompted). However, now go into your Hotmail
account using the webmail interface and look under options. There are
no options regarding read receipts whether when sending e-mails or
when receiving e-mails with read receipt requests. When using the
webmail interface, Hotmail won't send them, but a local e-mail client
can add the notification header to request them (i.e., can't do it
using webmail but could do it with a local e-mail client that uses
Hotmail to send). However, Hotmail users have no options on how to
handle them - so read receipt requests simply don't get handled (i.e.,
they are not honored).
Read receipts are added at the sender's end and handled at the
recipient's end. The e-mail service is not involved. The webmail
interface to Hotmail (or just about most webmail services) has no
options for handling the notification header for read receipts in
received e-mails. If your recipients are using the webmail interface,
no new e-mail will get sent back to you for your request for a read
receipt. The recipient would have to use a local e-mail client that
accesses their Hotmail account and where within that local e-mail
client they have configured the option to send you that read receipt
(not likely).
Since the vast majority of users always disable read receipts, there
would be no reason for Hotmail to bother with them. It's an endpoint
function, not an e-mail service function. Some users immediately
configure read receipt handling to always ignore them after installing
Outlook. The install-time default is to Prompt, so users that don't
do the immediate configuration to disable them will do so after
getting pestered about them. Unless you are in a corporate
environment and on a domain where company policy and domain policies
can force read receipt handling to be automatic (for internally routed
e-mails), don't expect anyone to acknowledge your request for a read
receipt. And since Hotmail itself has no options on sending or
handling requests for read receipts then none get sent (when using
their webmail interface) and none get handled (when using their
webmail interface). Only senders and recipients using local e-mail
clients can do read receipts.
Notice
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/280966 mentions options within
Outlook. Read receipt handling is an endpoint option in whatever is
their e-mail client. How read receipts are handled has nothing to do
with Hotmail or any other e-mail service that you use. It's a client
thing.
You could try using services that practice the old spammer's trick of
embedding web beacons (aka web bugs) into HTML-formatted e-mails but:
(1) The recipient must render your HTML-formatted e-mail rather than
read it in plain-text format; and, (2) Must not block linked images
(which is highly unlikely these days). Also, if your recipients find
out you are using web beacons, expect them to distrust you thereafter
and possibly even blacklist you.
