>But what we want to know is are ANY
messages addressed to us blocked even before they
reach bulk mail?


hey lee-

good question. i personally don't use hotmail or yahoo for anything
*but* junkmail. My guess is that if you enable their filtering systems,
bulk or spam will get sent to your junk/bulk folders. the new smart
filtering is based on building itself based on previous input
(artificial unintelligence?) i really don't know though, anyone else
have thoughts on this?

what you're talking about is more like when an isp who is someone's mail
server (think cox.net, charter.net, etc.) installs a filter, or
subscribes to some demonic (which is the kindest adjective i can think
of) service like spews.org. when this happens, YES, email will get
ditched before it ever gets to a bulk folder on your local machine.
nice, eh?

hth,
lisa
lisa@...