Why am I not able to connect with yahoo messenger?

Why can't Yahoo! Messenger 8 connect when i try to sign in?

• As of at least August 1, 2006, Yahoo! messenger 8 started giving me the generic error "yahoo can't connect" when I try to sign in. I know I'm using the correct credentials because I can access my Yahoo! mail fine with the same login information. I have a good DSL connection with no firewalls or proxies and can use AIM/MSN and surf websites without problems. I am using a Linksys 8 port DSL router with port forwarding for port 5050. Yahoo mssgr did not connect before I added port forwarding either. I am at a loss as to why I cannot connect. I tried following the troubleshooting steps like rechecking my login, changing the connection settings to "no network detection" and "firewall with no proxies" with no luck. I reinstalled the software several times and tried two previous versions as well, all with the same/similar error. any suggestions or ideas would be greatly appreciated!

• Answer:

  A lot of people are having this problem at one time or another. It is still a beta product so they are still working out all the bugs. Also, Yahoo is saying because of the heat they have been having in California and the rolling blackouts that causes some issues as well with all the the Yahoo products.