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	Issue TOC Print full article Print this page Download as PDF E-Mail this URL Flame the author     In this article Introduction And Now for Something Completely Different Executive Summary The Law of the Spam A Day In the Life of an E-mail Administrator

What follows is an actual e-mail exchange. Only the names were changed to protect the innocent:

-----Original Message-----

From: Innocent e-mail user

Subject: Why was my e-mail blocked!

Dear Blacklist-admin:

I am a public relations professional who recently sent a single press release to one of your users from my Bell Atlantic (Verizon) mail account and received the following mail rejection message:

Recipient: <myuser@myserver.com>

Reason: The mail server you are SENDING FROM is listed on an international blacklist. Your message was rejected. Send your questions to blacklist-admin@myserver.com.

I fail to understand how my mail server (Verizon) is on an international blacklist. I am not a spammer. Please advise how I am supposed to communicate with MyUser in the future.

Sincerely, Innocent e-mail user



----- Original Message -----

From: blacklist-admin@myserver.com

Subject: RE: Why was my e-mail blocked!

Innocent e-mail user,

I'll look into it. Can you tell me what day and what time you sent the message to MyUser? Blacklist-admin



-----Original Message-----

From: Innocent e-mail user

Subject: Re: Why was my e-mail blocked!

Hi Blacklist-admin,

Thanks for your response. I sent the e-mail to her about 4:30 on Friday afternoon. Hope this helps. Innocent e-mail user

----- Original Message -----

From: Blacklist-admin

Subject: RE: Why was my e-mail blocked!

Innocent e-mail user,

One of the "real-time blacklist" services I use to help control the amount of spam my users receive does list the server from which you sent your mail (out003pub.

verizon.net, 206.46.170.103) as a known source of SPAM. You can see the spam report for your server at: http://spam cop.net/w3m?action=checkblock&ip=206.46.170.103

Note that SpamCop is a dynamic service. Today, out003pub is not listed. It was listed from July 11 to this morning because of the amount of spam that was reported coming from that server during that time. Based on its history, it will no doubt be listed again soon.

Also, an article from last August in CNET.com shows that Verizon's servers have a long history of serving as open relays for spam: news.com.com/2010- 1080281540.html?legacy=cnet

I checked this same issue last night and a year later, out003pub.verizon.net is still an open relay. This means that anyone can use these servers to send spam--that's why traffic from verizon.net is blocked by many spam blacklists, including the ones we use.

Thanks, Blacklist-admin

-----Original Message-----

From: Innocent e-mail user

Subject: Re: Why was my e-mail blocked!

Hi Blacklist-admin,

Thanks for the explanation. I understand now how it is determined who gets blocked. Unfortunately, it appears that these spam-filtering programs eliminate anyone who uses a given service provider's systems. I'm sure millions of people use Verizon. What you are saying is that my e-mails will be filtered out by the spam program you use because spammers also use Verizon. Seems rather archaic, inefficient and unfair to me. I've heard of other programs that filter out mail based on other criteria. The danger in using your program is that legitimate mail that your editors want to receive will be rejected out of hand.

Innocent e-mail user

-----End of messages-----

Sadly, Innocent e-mail user is right: The system is archaic, inefficient and unfair. But our users love the fact that the amount of spam they receive is reduced significantly. That's the bottom line.