No e-mail alerts on MSN Messenger anymore

Hi all,

I got no replies the last time I posted this so I'm trying again:

I used to get alerts on MSN Messenger when I had new e-mail, then all of a sudden the alerts stopped last week. I have the right box checked on Properties for e-mail alerts. Can anything be done?

Also, is there a way I can get e-mail alerts with iChat? I think I get them with Mail, right?

Thanks!

Luis