I must admit, i've never posted a topic that has recieved so many posts before.
too bad it's in Blah-x3.
Anywho, what i'm thinking is, since HoTU IS so big, it may have more than one server, or may be registered to more than one domain, and each server (or domain) connects to a different world location. That'd explain why it workes perfectly for some, not at all for others, and yet their IP still responds to connections with a limited access.