Email Hell

My Web and email host has decided that spam has become too costly for them to handle with conventional measures. To put a stop to the nuisance, they have begun implementing a series of filters to keep unwanted messages out. One of these filters is the exclusion of all mail that originates from SMTP servers that don’t have reverse DNS lookups enabled. This measure has been very effective; it has cut down the amount of spam I receive by about 75%.

However, it’s also having the disastrous effect of bouncing messages from some of my customers (and prospects), who needless to say are not spammers. The problem is that most mid- to large- size businesses in Panama (and most of the developing world, I suspect) run their own mail servers. Some of these folks have rDNS turned off by design—apparently it’s been considered best practice in security circles for some time. (I know very little about the configuration of mail servers, please feel free to correct me if this is wrong.)

According to my host, these new rules are a growing trend among ISPs, including America Online. So basically, their attitude is “your customers need to change their mail servers to be able to send you mail”. Let’s see… I’m a small provider trying to win/keep their business. I now need to call them to let them know them that if they want to be able to work with me, they must make changes to their current network configuration—which, as I stated, is set up according to what they’ve paid consultants to tell them is a best practice. Do you think they’re willing to make this change? I don’t think so! (By the way, I’ve already had a few of these calls, and most customers have been sympathetic but understandably unwilling to make the necessary changes. And of course, I can’t warn prospects who might be trying to email me because I don’t know that they’re trying to email me!)

So now I must choose between my hosting provider and my customers. Do you want to guess which I’m going to choose? If you know of any good Web/mail hosts that don’t break the prevailing email paradign just to cut down on their operating expenses, please let me know.

And if you are a spammer: damn you! You bastards are ruining the Internet for all of us.

July 9, 2004 | Archived in Technology