Email woes

I went to send emails after finally getting online, now that I'm settled in SC, but couldn't send them from Outlook. Here's my chat transcript from an online help session with Earthlink:

Welcome to Earthlink LiveChat. Your chat session will begin shortly.
'Stephen M' says: Thank you for contacting EarthLink LiveChat, how may I help you today?
eshinee@earthlink.net: I can receive email in Outlook but cannot send.
eshinee@earthlink.net: I changed the send address to smtpauth.earthlink.net and did the other steps recommended on the support site but it didn't help.
Stephen M: It is a known issue and our engineers are working on it. It will be resolved as soon as possible.
Stephen M: I apologize for any inconvenience caused to you in this regard.
eshinee@earthlink.net: What do I do in the meantime? Does this mean I can't use OUtlook anymore?
Stephen M: You can use it as soon as the server is up.eshinee@earthlink.net: Do you have an estimated time on that?
Stephen M: Unfortunately, I do not have an estimated time when the problem will be resolved.
Stephen M: It will resolved as soon as possible.
eshinee@earthlink.net: OK. Is there any way I could get a notification when it's fixed?
Stephen M: I am sorry we cannot send a notification.
Stephen M: You can try after some time.
eshinee@earthlink.net: OK. Thanks. Bye.
Stephen M: Is there anything else I may assist you with today?
eshinee@earthlink.net: Naw ... that's it.
Stephen M: You're welcome and thank you for using EarthLink LiveChat. Should you need further assistance, please feel free to contact us again.

Online help is a nifty idea. I just prefer it when the end result is me being helped, which is more often than not the case.

So, for those who may be emailing me: I'm getting your emails and I'm responding but my responses aren't getting sent because of a technical issue. Sigh.