Of course it's deliberate, it's part of Google's ongoing business model of ring fencing the internet. People tell you not to run your own mail server as it's a

Of course it's deliberate, it's part of Google's ongoing business model of ring fencing the internet. People tell you not to run your own mail server as it's a nightmare to keep on top of all the security aspects, and yes that's a thing. The greater problem is getting your mail delivered to the vast majority of people with gmail/hotmail/yahooo mail.