All email sent to a “xxxx@earthlink.net or .com” address is being blocked by most major email providers.  Your clients who have an EARTHLINK email address are likely not receiving any MLS listing communication from you.

The quickest way to ensure that your MLS email to your client will not be blocked is to request that your CLIENT provide an alternate email (non-Earthlink, non-Yahoo) for listing email from flexmls.  If your clients have a Gmail or other email address, this will not be affected by Earthlink’s denial of delivery.

While the exact reason for this blockage is unknown, FBS, makers of flexmls, have diligently contacted and complied with any and all Earthlink requests and have been unable to persuade Earthlink to lift the ban on flex mail delivery.  Earthlink is not as large as Yahoo or Gmail, this will affect some users in the Columbus market.

Problems with Yahoo email delivery continue, but have improved.  There are still serious email delivery problems with Yahoo as well, but they are not as complete as the blocked email at Earthlink.  You can read more about security changes Yahoo made recently in an article on the MLS welcome screen.

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05/09/2014

UPDATE: Flex has suspended the requirement to login to see Private reports on mobile devices.  This is a temporary change. MLS is still considering policy and working with Flex to deal with the volatile information on the Private reports.

ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
A recent change to security policy in flex requires that emailed versions of the Private reports can only be viewed if the agent is logged into flex with valid credentials.  Effectively, this means that a client cannot view the Private reports on their mobile device.  The client would have to be logged into flex as the agent, which is prohibited by MLS policy.
It is currently possible to email the Private reports to a client email address.  If viewed on mobile flex, it will require agent login.  On a desktop computer browser, it will not require agent login at this time.  This is being reviewed as well.  It is possible that the desktop version also will require login to view private reports in the future in the same way that mobile version does now.

REMINDER:  it is a violation of MLS policy to allow your clients to login to the MLS using your credentials.  Please do not share your password.

The sensitivity of agent-only information such as Agent to Agent Remarks, compensation fields, and DOM/CDOM have always been the primary reason that the Private reports should not be sent directly to the public.

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05/08/2014

NOTE:  This server move will NOT affect MLS or Realist access.

The MLS Data Co-op Servers will be moved May 6.  There is no downtime expected for this move.  If you notice any slowness on Data Co-op, it is likely due to this server move,

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05/05/2014

This 60 minute webinar will cover general navigation, tips on adding a listing, searching, setting up auto e-mails and more.

PLEASE NOTE:  This is the same webinar that was offered prior to conversion at Columbus REALTORS in February 2014.  It will cover largely the same information.  This is just another option for users who want an overview of all features in flexmls.  The Columbus-specific sessions were also recorded and can be viewed anytime without having to attend the live webinar session.

Space is limited.  Click the link below to reserve your seat:

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/450027864

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05/01/2014

Just a reminder, later this week (May 1)  FBS will begin another series of live Trainer-focused online-only webinars entitled “Train the Trainer.”  If someone in your office is interested in training Flexmls Web or just wanting to learn more please share this information with them.  Each webinar will be 60-90 minutes and they will be recorded. Initially three webinars are scheduled and a fourth may be added if needed. Train-the-Trainer sessions typically lasts 5 hours or so when done live therefore webinars 2 and 3 will be picking up where the previous webinar left off.

These will be very similar to the Train-the-Trainer webinars offered prior to go-live with Flexmls in February 2014.

If you have already registered, you do not need to register again.

To register and reserve your seat, please use the following links.  Please note that each webinar is scheduled for 11am Eastern

Train the Trainer Session 1, Thursday, May 1 – https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/642874320

Train the Trainer Session 2, Wednesday, May 7 – https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/821181344

Train the Trainer Session 3, Monday, May 19 – https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/296164040

These webinars will be recorded and made available to all who register for the webinar with a valid email address, regardless of whether they attend.

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04/28/2014

A new report called “CR Brief with Photos” has been added to the Report drop down menu on the Detail tab in flex.  The new report will display the same listing information as the existing “Brief” report but will include the first 9 photos  below the listing information.  The primary photo, as selected by the listing agent, will always appear at the top in the MLS information section.  The pictures will appear in the order selected by the listing at the bottom of the report.  This will usually mean that the primary photo will be duplicated in the first slot, but not always.  If the agent rearranged the photos and select the 10th image as the primary, it will appear at the top but not in the rest of the photos since only the first 9 will appear on the page.  If you wish to see up to 48 photos that have been added to the listing, you should use the standard photo report instead of the “Brief with Photos”.

This report is similar to a report that existed in Tempo/Fusion.  The photos will display in the proportions/scaling of the original uploaded image.  This means that the pictures will not display in a perfect square or rectangular box.  It also means that veritical pictures will display with white space on either side of the image since they spaces are designed for horizontal, standard sized photos.  This may also mean that “wide” photos will have a white space above and below.

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04/11/2014

Realist will be unavailable from 5-8pm this Saturday evening for routine maintenance by CoreLogic staff.

Please schedule accordingly.  Realist will be completely unreachable and offline during the maintenance window.

Schedule:

Saturday, April 12 – 5pm – Realist offline
Saturday, April 12 – 8pm – Realist accessible/functionality restored

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04/10/2014

FBS will conduct another series of live Trainer-focused webinars entitled “Train the Trainer.”  If someone in your office is interested in training Flexmls Web or just wanting to learn more please share this information with them.  Each webinar will be 60-90 minutes and they will be recorded. Initially three webinars are scheduled and a fourth may be added if needed. Train-the-Trainer sessions typically lasts 5 hours or so when done live therefore webinars 2 and 3 will be picking up where the previous webinar left off.

These will be very similar to the Train-the-Trainer webinars offered prior to go-live with Flexmls in February 2014.

To register, please use the following links.  Please note that each webinar is scheduled for 11am Eastern

Train the Trainer Session 1, Thursday, May 1 – https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/642874320

Train the Trainer Session 2, Wednesday, May 7 – https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/821181344

Train the Trainer Session 3, Monday, May 19 – https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/296164040

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04/09/2014

Am I running Windows XP?

If you are unsure, Microsoft has provided a website that will detect and tell you if you are running Windows XP on your system. You’ll want to run this on any computer you may believe as running Windows XP as each system will  need to be addressed. The website is as follows:

http://www.amirunningxp.com

What does this mean for me?

What this means for you is that if you are currently running an system with Windows XP, you’ll want to consider upgrading to or purchasing a system with a newer version of Windows. Our vendor’s current plans call for Tempo/Fusion to support Windows XP through the February conversion to flexMLS, but please be aware that after Microsoft discontinues Windows XP in April, future vendor support will likely end. For recommendations on your next computer system, you may wish to check this article written to discuss computer purchases:

http://www.columbusrealtors.com/NewsDetail.aspx?article=69992448

Why is this Happening?

As many may have heard over the last few months, Microsoft is moving to end support for PC systems running Windows XP on April 8, 2014. As such, Windows XP will no longer receive software updates from Windows Update. These include security updates that can help protect your PC from harmful viruses, spyware, and other malicious software, which can steal your personal information. Windows Update also installs the latest software updates to improve the reliability of Windows XP—new drivers for your hardware and more. You will also likely find many third party type programs, such as anti-virus, will end their support of Windows XP at the same time. If you have a specific question about a program and its support under Windows XP, you’d want to check the vendor that provided the software for details.

Microsoft has released a site that covers all the details regarding their decision and what options are available. Please use the link below to visit:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/end-support-help

For users of Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, please be aware that this notice does not affect you. To verify the version of Windows you are running, please use the following guide supplied by Microsoft, to help:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/which-operating-system

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04/08/2014

Update from FBS regarding Yahoo email servers as of May 9, 2014:

There are still some lingering issues regarding emails not reaching their proper destination originally posted here. FBS is aware of the problem and is working toward a permanent solution. These problems affect anyone with an email address that ends with (but not limited to) @yahoo.com, @sbcglobal.net, @att.net, @bellsouth.net, @mindspring.com, and @earthlink.com.

If you have one of these email addresses as your primary email address within flexmls, as a temporary solution please change it to an alternate email address that does not end with one of these domain names. If your association allows you to perform this task, update your email address in flexmls by clicking on Preferences > My Profile > My E-mails Addresses > clicking your email address entry and clicking Edit. Change your email address to a valid address that does not end in one of the domains listed above, make sure the setting “Is this your primary E-mail address” is set to Yes, then click Next to save your changes. If you do not have a My E-Mail Addresses option, contact your local association office for further assistance.

Original Message:

All email sent from a “xxxx@yahoo.com” address that does not originate from a Yahoo server is being blocked by most major email providers.  If your primary email address in your flexmls profile is a “yahoo.com” address, your clients are likely not receiving any MLS listing communication from you.

The quickest way to ensure that your email from the MLS will not be blocked is to use an alternate (non-Yahoo) address on your profile in flexmls.  If you have a Gmail or other email address, this will not be affected by Yahoo’s change.  Only email “From” a Yahoo address is being blocked.

To change your flexmls email:

1) Log onto flex
2) Go to Preferences > My Profile.
3) Click Quick Profile Maintenance at the top.
4) Replace your Yahoo email address with an alternate address from another email provider.
5) Click Save at the bottom

Please be advised that Yahoo made a change to their email policy (DMARC) this weekend that is causing email sent from a Yahoo address but not directly from the Yahoo servers to be blocked by many email systems including MSN/Live/Hotmail, Gmail, AOL, Comcast, etc.  This is affecting all Yahoo email locally and nationally.  This change is affecting all email sent from a Yahoo address, not only MLS listing email.

This change by Yahoo affects all outgoing email from the MLS and all other websites that send email “from” a Yahoo address but not directly from Yahoo servers.  It is uncertain if or when Yahoo will return to a less restrictive email policy.

For More Information about the problem, please read the story about Yahoo and DMARC below:

http://www.socketlabs.com/blog/yahoo-com-changes-dmarc-policy/

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04/07/2014