[DeTomaso] Email Problems from the Detomaso List

[David Bell]

Detomaso List Members

There have been a fair number of Detomaso list members over the past few
months who have had problems receiving email from the Detomaso list server.
Often, these delivery problems have occurred because the member's ISP
(Internet Service Provider) began blocking email from the Detomaso server.
Invariably, the offending ISPs claim they are not blocking anything, and
usually deny that a blacklist even exists - until tracebacks show incoming
email being blocked at their site. Sometimes the ISP has agreed to remove
the Detomaso server from their blacklist, other times they have refused.
The ISPs generally never admit that they have a blacklist but sometimes the
emails mysteriously begin to flow again after the ISP support staff have
gotten involved.  I went through this ordeal with my own ISP (ATT) a few
months ago and had gotten to the point that I was prepared to contract with
a different ISP.  Eventually, with Andy Poling's help I won out - but it was
a very frustrating week or so.

I didn't have a clue why this might be happening until a few days ago when I
learned that the Detomaso server has been wrongly identified as a spam
server by SORBS, which as I understand it is a spam listing service that
some ISPs subscribe to.  There are a variety of reasons why SORBS may have
included the Detomaso server in their SPAM list, one of which is that they
sometimes identify very large blocks of IP addresses (which could include
the Detomaso server address) rather than the individual SPAM server
addresses.  We are currently working to get the Detomaso server removed from
the SORBS list.  While nothing is certain, we are reasonably confident it
will happen.  It may take a week or two (or longer) though.  After we get
our server off the SORBS list it may also take a while for the info to
filter down to the SORBS subscribers.

As a reminder about how the Detomaso list works:

1) The Detomaso list is a member's only email group.  The list has
automatically updated anti-virus and anti-spam software in place.  Only text
emails (no attachments) are allowed as a further protection against
transmitting viruses and worms to the list members.  And regardless of the
automated protections, spam can only be passed through the server to the
members if the spammer were a member of the list.   Any list member who
passed spam would be quickly recognized and removed from our email list
(this has never happened).
2) The list administration software will automatically disable and
eventually remove a subscriber's membership following excessive email
bounces (a bounce is when an outgoing email can not be successfully
delivered).  This is to keep the membership list relatively current by
eliminating permanently full mailboxes, changed or dead email addresses,
etc.  An artifact of this system is that if a particular ISP continually
blocks Detomaso email, the list software will suspend that member because of
'excessive bounces'.
3) The Detomaso server isn't blocking any email to any members.  Though
there is an administrative function available to permanently remove problem
children, there are no names currently on this list (and to my knowledge
there never have been any).   There are a few members (very few) whose
memberships are currently suspended for 'excessive bounces' however.

So, if you notice that you are suddenly not receiving Detomaso list email,
contact me directly at detomaso-owner at realbig.com and I can quickly tell
whether your subscription has been disabled on this end or not, and reset it
if necessary.  If that is not the case, then chances are your ISP is
blocking all email from the Detomaso server.  If you are persistent and firm
with your ISP support staff (ask for a trace to determine the point where
the emails are being blocked) and can convince them that the Detomaso server
is not passing any spam, they may remove the Detomaso server from their
blacklist.

Otherwise, you may just have to hang tight and wait/hope for SORBS to clear
us.  Or find another ISP.


Dave Bell - Detomaso List Administrator