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ExchangeHomes.com is becoming increasingly concerned by the volume of emails that are simply not getting through to members. ISPs (Internet Service Providers) Spam filters, have become much too aggressive and inquiries sent to fellow members from the web site may have never got through. Or, members may have replied to contact emails but again, mail never reached its intended destination.

It has now escalated to the point where hardly a day passes without members contacting the office complaining that they are not receiving replies to their home swap inquiries, and as we see it, every failed email represents possibly missed home swap opportunities.

ExchangeHomes.com members have always had an easy to access, back-up record of every contact they make, and receive! Six years ago, in anticipation that members would need a reliable means of checking back over correspondence, our innovative programmers provided copies in each member’s Admin area of Emails Sent and Emails Received, provided they were initiated on the ExchangeHomes.com web site.

Members must begin the habit of logging on and checking their back-up copies. It’s such a simple solution to an ever increasing dilemma.

As many as one quarter to one third of our membership access the Internet using AOL, and AOL’s policy is to divert all incoming mail to their subscriber’s spam boxes unless it comes from a) someone on their Buddy List, or b) someone in their Address Book.

And these actions are not limited to AOL. More and more ISPs are adopting the same or similar policies.

Earthlink for example intercepts all unverified mail and emails the sender for authentication. There was a problem where they were losing 9 out of 10 emails by virtue of their over zealous spam filtering activities.

So what can be done? It’s something ALL the home exchange organizations are trying to resolve as well as vacation rental companies, etc.

We explain to members the need to check their spam folders continually, but a great many of our members are computer illiterate and they just ignore the advice.

Those that do know they have spam folders often readily admit that it never crosses their mind to check them for legitimate mail. All they do is click to empty them periodically.

Anyone who participates in home exchange needs to be aware of their ISPs spam filters and carefully check the contents of their spam box frequently, otherwise they are going to miss likely exchange opportunities. Also, immediately they receive emails from other members, they should click to add their address to their Buddy/Friends List. AOL provides a button for them to do this.

Or, if they are ExchangeHomes.com members - check the web site back ups!