Spam Resource Blog Site Map

This is just a simple link list to all (or most) of the articles published here on Spam Resource, for easy reference and linking by search engines.

Spam Resource Articles from 2026

2026: The year opens with a forward looking look at deliverability, including predictions for 2026, Gmail’s A.I. inbox plans, and evolving Microsoft SNDS changes. It blends big picture trends with practical sender questions, surveys, and benchmarks from late 2025.

January 2026

Ask Al: 18 Months, 61 Videos
Email Deliverability in 2026: What's next?
Gmail announces A.I. inbox: What does this mean?
January 2026 Microsoft SNDS Updates (So far)
Survey says: What was your biggest BFCM inbox challenge?
Wait, what is Microsoft SNDS? (for 2026)
Zeta: Q3 2025 Email Benchmarks

Spam Resource Articles from 2025

2025: A busy year, covering sender requirements, authentication enforcement, and mailbox provider changes across Gmail, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Apple. Coverage ranges from DMARC, BIMI, and SNDS deep dives to real world failure cases, regulatory shifts, tooling reviews, and ongoing Ask Al guidance tied to BFCM and large scale sending. And, remembering Chip House.

Spam Resource Articles from 2024

2024: A year filled with discussion of authentication maturity and ecosystem change, with frequent updates on DMARC adoption, BIMI expansion, Apple Mail behavior, and Gmail requirements. The year mixes education via DELIVTERMS and Tuesday Tips with reporting on provider shutdowns, policy enforcement, scams, and Deliverability Week coverage.

December 2024

Apple iOS 18.2 is out: My first impressions
CAN-SPAM: Recapping the Basics
DELIVTERMS: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
Event Alert: Don't Miss Inbox Expo 2025
F2F Spam: From Antiquity to Modern Times
Friday fun: Die Hard is a christmas movie
Friday fun: EMF - Unbelievable
Friday fun: Suggested email etiquette ... in 1985
Happy Holidays from Spam Resource
List unsubscribe ... for Android RCS messages?
Talking blocklists with Alison Gootee
Talking Spamhaus with Andrew Barrett
The Future of Email: Exploring other communication models and what it could mean for email
Tuesday Tip: Understanding Bounces
Tuesday Tip: Learn more about Apple Business Connect from Badsender
Tuesday Tip: When your message is too old
Welcome Axigen to to the BIMI bandwagon
Yahoo and AOL domains (2024 Update)

November 2024

Apple Private Relay Subscribers: What is this?
Beehiiv launches multi-million dollar journalism fund
BIMI mailbox provider support in November 2024
Coming Soon: Gmail Shielded Email?
Deliverability News Recap: BIMI, Gmail, Apple, and Yahoo
Embrace the promotions tab
Friday Fun: Jazz Band Covers Nirvana On The Spot
Friday Fun: Port Authority Duane Reade - SNL
Fun with Data: Ranking mailbox providers in .edu
ICYMI: Webinar re-wind: Master the latest in email deliverability with Bonterra
Spam Resource Spotlight (Again!): Mickey Chandler
Spotlight on ... Spotlight!
Tuesday Tip: DKIM Oversigning, enable it if you can
Tuesday Tip: Five Tips for DKIM Configuration Success
Tuesday Tip: Yes, warm your new domain
Webinar alert: Marketers, learn more about BIMI, VMC/CMC, and Valimail Amplify
Wirtualna Polska shutting down Premium Sender Service

October 2024

Apple: Big changes ahead
Apple Business Connect: Is it BIMI?
Cool Tool: Inbound Email (SMTP) to Webhook
Cox.net now a Yahoo domain
DELIVTERMS: Common Mark Certificate (CMC)
ESPC Survey: Artificial Intelligence in Digital Marketing
Friday Fun: Jon Batiste - Für Elise
Guest post: Ramp Up For Q4 Email Campaigns Without Landing in the Spam Folder
iCloud users can now change their email address
Infrastructure update: talktalk.net and tiscali.co.uk
Microsoft Exchange Online adding inbound IPv6 support
Now available: Spam Resource t-shirts and stickers
SPF adoption rates over time
The scary new twist on an old email scam
The Wayback Machine is back (partly)
Tuesday Tip: Namecheap supports 2048-bit DKIM keys
Tuesday Tip: Content filtering, sometimes (but rarely)
Tuesday Tip: Gmail doesn’t discard!
Tuesday Tip: You need Google Postmaster Tools

September 2024

Apple Intelligence overwrites pre-headers on Apple Mail?
Apple iOS18 is here: What email senders need to know
Canadian Email Summit comes to Toronto on October 11
DELIVTERMS: Inbox Placement (Delivery versus Deliverability)
DMARC growth, by the numbers
Five tips for BFCM success in 2024
Friday Fun: Who's your favorite Herbie Hancock?
FTC fines Verkada over CAN-SPAM violations
Google announces support for CMCs with BIMI
Google Trends email subscriptions to stop working on October 29
Google Workspace shutting down LSA support (third notice)
IFAQ: Where I answer Infrequently Asked Questions about Cold Leads
MBP Spotlight: mimecast.com
Nerd break: oneliners.sh
Nerd break: QP PSA from JWZ
Orange.fr launches new postmaster site
Reminder: Re-register DKIM domains with Yahoo Feedback Loops
Tuesday Tip: 285 spam trigger words to avoid!!!
Tuesday Tip: Gmail remediation is slower!
Tuesday Tip: You can open and edit a BIMI SVG file
Who hosts mail for more domains: Microsoft or Google?
Who remembers X-AOL email formatted email?
You should be reading: All Things Email
Zoho Mail adds BIMI logo support

August 2024

Ask Al: Should I set up my own mail server?
Dead domain: cfu.net (in 2025)
Double your DMARC fun with two reporting destinations
Email newsletters are everywhere!
Email privacy and policy compliance: Focus on Spamtacular and Mickey Chandler
Friday Fun: Bad Guy cover
How Email Marketers Should Navigate the Gmail Promotions Tab Today (2024)
HubSpot: 23 of My Favorite Free Marketing Newsletters
Maintaining Sending Reputation Takes Work (&Time)
MBP Spotlight: ionos.com
MBP Spotlight: rzone.de
Microsoft 365 was quarantining some image-containing emails (EX873252)
New from Hormel: Korean BBQ Spam
No, Gmail did not just break all open tracking
Oops, how I broke my fake BIMI logo (and then fixed it)
OpenDKIM on Debian: Skip that L= tag
RNC v. Google: A Google win, but a terrible ruling
Should you delete your old emails?
Twenty-three years and counting!
Spam Resource Spotlight: Lori Hunter
Stop it: ESP deliverability rankings mean nothing
Talking Deliverability on Validity's Email After Hours Podcast
This blog is full of spiders...er, typos
Yahoo FBL bug fixed, and signup reminder
Your authentication and deliverability questions answered

July 2024

Altice USA, Suddenlink, Optonline, Cablevision Email Domains (2024 Update)
Amazon SES: Swaks, Postfix and more
BIMI: Adoption, example logos and provider support
Comcast moving to p=quarantine DMARC policy
Court rules Jay Fink free to help you fight spam
DKIM L=Tag Exploit, two months later: Status and data
Email Authentication Impact on Inbox Placement
Email deliverability: What you need to know
Gmail updates the Updates tab
Google sending requirements: What of B2B?
Hartley thrown out: Good news for permission, bad news for spammers
iCloud Private Relay issue July 25-28
ICYMI: Valimail and NGP VAN deliverability webinar recap
Is Microsoft getting on the Yahoogle bus?
MBP Spotlight: hostinger.com
MBP Spotlight: zoho.com
Some history: Salesforce Reputation Audit and Habeas as inspiration
Spam Resource in the form of a word cloud
Spam Resource Spotlight: Jaime Carney
Spam Resource Spotlight: Jay Fink
Spam Resource Spotlight: Jennifer Nespola Lantz
Spam Resource Spotlight: LB Blair
Spam Resource Spotlight: Marcel Becker
The case for and against double opt-in

June 2024

Alison Gootee: Understanding Blocklists
Apple announces tabs coming to Apple Mail on iOS
Cause and Effect: Countering Common Deliverability Excuses
Deliverability Matters, and welcome to Deliverability Week 2024!
Deliverability Week Day 2 Recap: SPF, Collaboration, History, Convincing the CMO and more!
Deliverability Week Day 3 Recap: Filters, Excuse, Consent, Warming, Karma and more!
Deliverability Week Day 4 Recap: Spam foldering, opens, DNS, definitions, it depends, warming and more!
Deliverability Week Day 5 Recap: Email authentication, more on terminology, the Email Czar, DMARC + more
Deliverability Week Day 1 Recap: Why deliverability matters to us
DELIVTERMS: Deliverability
Delivterms: PSL aka Public Suffix List
Four Key Lessons From My First Role in Deliverability
Friday funny: DeliveRAPility
Learning about deliverability: 33 DELIVTERMS and counting
List-unsub-post in your DKIM configuration
Mailgun: A word of caution for Laravel developers
My journey from Deliverability to DMARC: Why I think DMARC matters
Send it Right, a new website and blog from Lauren Meyer
Webinar alert: Increasing deliverability in the political and advocacy spaces
Webinar alert: State of Email Live: Beyond DMARC!
What Actually Happens When You Click Send?
Wrapping up Deliverability Week 2024
Yahoo seeing inbound delivery delays -- should be fixed now

May 2024

Be aware: DKIM L=Tag Exploit
DELIVTERMS: Google Postmaster Tools (GPT)
Delivterms: List-ID
New Yahoo Sender Hub Dashboard Update
North Korea targeting weak DMARC policies
Spam Resource Spotlight: Chip House
Spam Resource Spotlight: Tara Natanson

April 2024

A sampling of DMARC rejection examples
Ask Al: Help, we're getting URL blocked at Gmail!
DELIVTERMS: DNS aka Domain Name System
DELIVTERMS: Email Authentication
Gmail error: IP not authorized
Gmail rejection: Your sending IP address is not authorized
Google Workspace shutting down LSA support (second notice)
Spam Resource Spotlight: Annalivia Ford

March 2024

DELIVTERMS: B2B and B2C
DELIVTERMS: CASL
DELIVTERMS: Catch-all
Does a spam investigator need a license?
Spam Resource Spotlight: Skyler Holobach

February 2024

DELIVTERMS: COI/DOI
DELIVTERMS: DMARC
DELIVTERMS: NDR
ISP Deliverability Guide: Mimecast
Spam Resource Spotlight: Mickey Chandler

January 2024

Cox.net subscribers to land in Yahoo Mail
DELIVTERMS: Verified Mark Certificate (VMC)
ICYMI: DMARC-Pocalypse Now Webinar
Spam Resource Spotlight: Alison Gootee
Swaks is a cool tool (and has been updated)
Talking 2024 Gmail Sender Requirements with Neil Kumaran
Yahoo Mail/Gmail 2024 Easy Sender Compliance Guide

Spam Resource Articles from 2023

2023: A pivotal year leading up to the 2024 Gmail and Yahoo enforcement deadlines, marked by frequent alerts, compliance guidance, and reactions to new rejection patterns. Topics include DMARC readiness, feedback loops, Apple privacy changes, legal cases around spam filtering, and ongoing analysis of mailbox provider behavior.

December 2023

All the different bounces you can get from O365
Bonus Webinar: A Crash Course on List Unsubscribe
Brian Krebs on the new ICANN Registration Data Request Service process
Come and get a free att.net email account!
Comparing ESP/Newsletter Sender Free Tier Info
DMARC Alert!
Fun with small data: my own list broken down by mailbox provider
Gmail: As of today...
Gmail: new spam filter update featuring RETVec
ICYMI: Marcel Becker and Al Iverson on Domain Reputation and Apple MPP
Is Google Postmaster Tools secure?
It begins: Google retiring inactive accounts
Ken Magill's back, and he's got a story to tell: His own
Salesforce Marketing Cloud: Email validation, IP strategy
Spam History: Roger Ebert and the Boulder Pledge
Talking List Hygiene: Andrew Kordek and Al Iverson
Validity to restrict access to reputation data via DNS
Webinar alert: Get ready! The DMARCpocalypse is coming!
Yahoo Mail and Gmail compliance deadline updates

November 2023

A quick and easy Black Friday / Cyber Monday sending tip
Chrome turns on real-time phishing protection
Cold leads? Shiver me timbers! And three points.
Dead domains: Sparklight / Cable One
Eric Goldman: RNC v. Google and Section 230
Fun with data: DMARC at top 100 MBP domains
Gmail: New spam-related rejections and what you need to know
Gmail: Status, Changes, and Challenges
Guest Post: Cornucopia of Comms Coming Soon
Guest post: Improving Reputation Ahead of new Gmail/Yahoo Changes
ICYMI: Understanding DKIM Replay Attacks
Inbox testing: Everything new is old again?
Join me and the CSA to learn about DKIM Replay Attacks
Mailchimp to shut down TinyLetter in 2024
New FBL feed mechanism from Abusix launches
Stuck in the middle with you: When shared domains are actively risky
Thanks
TLD .us is still full of bad stuff

October 2023

An Email Sending Guide for SaaS Builders
Apple iOS 17 and LTP: How does it affect email marketing?
Boo.
DELIVTERMS: JMRP
DMARC to be required at Gmail in 2024
Gmail and Yahoo: New deliverability requirements coming in 2024
Holiday deliverability in 2023 and beyond
I know you've got to fundraise, but...
ICYMI: A Small Publisher’s Guide to Email Deliverability
Microsoft: 451 4.7.500 Server busy delays on Wednesday 10/11
Microsoft SNDS was down for maintenance 10/18
MX records changing for Microsoft-hosted domains ... eventually
Oops: Important information about your Amazon gift card order
Spamhaus: False positive issue on Friday 10/13
Spamhaus wants your spam!
Spammers and scammers and IP address space, oh my!

September 2023

Avoid this one specific TLD when choosing your domain name
FBLs in 2023: are they needed? How should you handle them?
Four questions about ISP feedback loops
Gmail now rejecting unauthenticated mail
jwz: US B2C domain rankings in the wild
MacOS Sonoma drops support for legacy mail plug-ins
Microsoft: Multiple types of invalid user bounces
Microsoft: New Outlook for Windows email app
More analysis on the RNC spam lawsuit against Google
Onet (Poland): Account Inactivity Policy
Reference: CenturyLink Email Domains
Salesforce Marketing Cloud: Deliverability Fundamentals
Spamhaus: The return of the ASN-DROP
Telstra Bigpond moves to p=reject DMARC policy
Validity to start charging for Feedback Loop email feeds

August 2023

Breaking news: New FTC proposed settlement over CAN-SPAM violation
Do email addresses die? TL;DR? Yes, and...
Everything broke last week
Friday Fun: Email creates evidence.
From Twilio Sendgrid: Ask the Expert: Lili Crowley, Postmaster, Yahoo!
FTC Assesses Primary Purpose of Emails in CAN SPAM Enforcement
Fun Friday: Beastie Boys / Sabotage
Gmail may ask for verification to add a forwarding address or edit filters
Google purging inactive accounts (and notifying the world)
Hormel donates 264,000 cans of SPAM to Hawaiians
Hotmail.com SPF issue on August 18th
ICYMI: Deliverability for Newsletter Senders
iiNet users losing free email access
Microsoft: Body hash did not verify error
Microsoft errors: 5.4.4 (unable to route: no mail hosts for domain)
Microsoft JMRP (FBL) woes starting August 16th
Apple: Private Relay vs Private Relay vs Hide my Email
RNC vs Google: Republicans lose this round
Simon Harper on list growth guidance from Dan Oshinsky
Spam hurts the earth?
Spamhaus glitch Friday night
United Online (Juno, Netzero): Domains and Updated Postmaster Site
Verizon Wireless users: Disabling inbound email-to-SMS
Virgin Media (UK) Email Troubles

July 2023

Did you notice that new Comcast bounce?
Do you double opt-in? And should you, in 2023?
Do you have a deliverability problem? Do I?
Email vs Capitalism, or, Why We Can't Have Nice Things
Friday Fun: If This Book Exists, You're in the Wrong Universe
Friday fun: It's not spam, it's SMEAT!
Friday Fun: Why the Windows XP Meadow no longer exists
Gmail glitch: That's annoying!
Google notification: Updating our Google Account inactivity policy
ICYMI: Serving up Expert Deliverability Tips with Epsilon's John Stephenson
Let's learn about KumoMTA!
Link roundup: Apple iOS 17 and macOS Sonoma link filtering
Nope. No Gmail feedback loop, sorry.
Typos are really bad news; here's why
Wombatmail is still here for all your DNS needs

June 2023

Brian Krebs: Service Rents Email Addresses for Account Signups
By the numbers: DMARC and BIMI adoption in June 2023
Dead domains: vodafone.it and teletu.it
Friday fun: Hit the Road, Nickleback
Fun with data: Email username rankings
Gmail puts BIMI on pause while addressing exploit
Google: Updating inactive account policies
ICYMI: DMARC, BIMI and Beyond Webinar Recap
iOS17 filtering click tracking links
Microsoft: SNDS Verification Emails not sending
More Apple privacy changes coming
More on iOS17 and Link Tracking Protection
Oracle: 13 Warning Signs of Email Deliverability Problems Ahead
Setting the default from domain in unix mail
Where did the at sign come from?
Yahoo problems? Could be SOA record issues in DNS

May 2023

Ask the Expert: Alex Brotman, Senior Engineer, Comcast
BIMI: Check out the new checkmark in Gmail
ChatGPT: What do I do when my email goes to the spam folder?
Comcast email addresses: .com or .net?
DELIVTERMS: BIMI
Friday fun: Entry Level by Wendy Wimmer
Having trouble with the Yahoo FBL? You're not alone.
I got a bounce! What do I do?
Increased bounces at Microsoft domains: What's going on?
Mimestream: New Gmail client for Mac launches
PSA: You can buy a domain directly from the iPhone Settings app
Sending Legally Mandated Emails: How to Put Your Best Foot Forward
Some random BIMI questions (and answers) for May 2023
The billion dollar unsubscribe link
The Goal of Sunsetting
The opposite of success
Webinar alert: Juggling Deliverability Success & Subscriber Lifecycle Management

April 2023

A random rant about best practices and leading the horse to water
BIMI: Current Status in May 2023
Cool tool: MessageBird DKIM Wizard
DMARCIAN: Ending the SPF Flattening Experiment
Friday Fun: Max Headroom
How to Plan a Smooth Migration Between ESPs
ISP Deliverability Guide: Microsoft OLC (Updated for 2023)
Pelosi campaign settles with Illinois man over SMS spam
Polish Provider Onet adds BIMI support
The poop emoji: a legal history (and encoding challenges)

March 2023

DELIVTERMS: FQDN
Gmail: More RFC 5322 bounces coming-- helping to impede DKIM replay attacks
Never too busy to talk about Microsoft blocking
The truth about cold leads

February 2023

DELIVTERMS: MTA and MUA
Use this one weird trick to improve Klaviyo deliverability

January 2023

Email authentication, fact vs fiction
Pro-tip: No emojis in the friendly from

Spam Resource Articles from 2022

2022: Focusing on fundamentals and standards, including BIMI growth, Apple Mail Privacy Protection impact, unsubscribe mechanics, and IP and domain warming. The year balances practical how tos with broader discussion of consent, regulation, and how filters actually behave in production.

December 2022

Chad S. White: 4 Ways to Maximize Double Opt-In Confirmations for Email
DKIM replay attacks and what to do about them
Feel Good Friday: That boy needs therapy
Figgy Pudding Spam....why?
Friday Fun: Katy Perry - Last Friday Night (TGIF)
From spam ... to music?
Fun with data: Top UK mailbox providers (by one measure)
Gmail having issues; delivery delays reported
Google hires law firm Perkins Coie to fight RNC's spam filter lawsuit
Rackspace Hosted Exchange email service hit by ransomware attack
SFMC: Two-Click Unsubscribe with AMPscript
Six smart people you should hire immediately
SpamAssassin v4.0.0 released
Updated Reference: Altice USA, Suddenlink, Optonline, Cablevision (Synchronoss) Email Domains
What's going on with all the political fundraising spam?

November 2022

A legal analysis of RNC v Google
Bitly (still) gets you blocked
Challenge/Response still exists, and it's still a problem
Dead email domain: hargray.com
Dead email domain: orangemail.sk
Deliverability and the Friendly From
Let’s learn about CASL
Spamhaus is not blocking Gmail
Take your spam trigger words and go away
Thank you, friends
Tis the season...to bookmark mailbox provider help pages
Zoom Email Client: First impressions
Zoom launches new email service

October 2022

Ask Al: Can I use an alternative TLD for my email sends?
BIMI: Current Status in October 2022
Dead email domain: love.com
Zone (Estonia): Domains and BIMI Support
Feel Good Friday: Livin' for the Weekend
Friday Fun: Adopt Spam!
Fun with email hashes
GOP ignoring proffered Gmail spam filter bypass?
Oracle: One Year Later: Apple MPP
Problems sending to Microsoft over IPv6? You're not alone
Reference: All Fastmail Email Domains
Schedule your email to send later on iOS
Spamhaus to block queries from AWS
The Funny, Sad History of the Best Halloween Memes Ever
Use this one weird trick to deliver your email faster

September 2022

Apple iOS 16 bonus: report SMS spam!
Apple launches BIMI support page
B2B domain hosting data: a sneak peek
BIMI on iOS: It's alive!
Dead email domain: ctemplar.com
Dead email domains: unitel.me and bluestreakme.com
DELIVTERMS: Microsoft Smart Network Data Services (SNDS)
Feel Good Friday: The Cure
Feel Good Friday: Just Got Paid
Feel Good Friday: Gorillaz
Guest Post: Gmail Political Pilot Program: Sometimes it feels good to be wrong
How a spoofed email passed the SPF check and landed in my inbox
ICYMI: 2022 Apple MPP Status and Impact Webinar
Is it right to purchase email lists as long as the data is ‘opt-in’?
La Poste adds support for BIMI logos
Pardot: How to keep your prospect database clean and healthy
Preparing for deliverability success this holiday season
Sending spam can cost you: Halfords
SMTP response codes: two resources
SNAFU: The Air Force Just Survived a Reply-All Apocalypse
Upcoming webinar: Preparing for the 2022 Holiday Season

August 2022

Blocklisted by Spamhaus? Here's what to do.
B2B deliverability is different (and trickier)
Brian Krebs on Email Aliases
DELIVTERMS: DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM)
DELIVTERMS: ISP and MBP
DELIVTERMS: Sender Policy Framework (SPF)
DuckDuckGo's duck.com email now open to all
Funny email sign-offs: warmly (but not kindly)
Gmail: Weird RFC 5322 bounces and what to do about them
Google Calendar Spam: How to stop it
Help! I’m seeing the wrong BIMI logo at Yahoo!
ICYMI: BIMI Overview and Current Status for 2022
Michelle Miles: Just Don’t Say It
My blog is old enough to drink
Seedlist testing: It's useful, even at Gmail
Sella Yoffe on Apple Hide My Email
Spamhaus just woke up. Are you ready?
Subdomains: What are they, and do you need them?
Travis Murray: What’s Going on With Gmail and Political Senders?
Vegan SPAM is here! Finally?

July 2022

AMP for email: where did it go?
ARC: What is it and why should you care?
Beware the Pepsi Challenge!
DELIVTERMS: CAN-SPAM
Do image-only emails harm deliverability?
Eliot Harper: One-click unsub in SFMC
EmailKarma celebrates 15 years!
History repeating: a quick lesson about apples and opting out
Jennifer Nespola Lantz: Gmail “Political Pass for Messaging” Program
Lashback acquired by PerformLine
Recap: Deliverability 101 Webinar with Insightly
Spectrum (Brighthouse, Charter, Time Warner) email domains (2022 update)
What a BIMI logo looks like in iOS 16

June 2022

Alison Gootee: One does not simply ... deliver ... to Microsoft
B2B spam filters and domain blocking: Who blocked my mail?
Better understanding Microsoft
BIMI ISP Status June 2022 (with forthcoming Apple support!)
DELIVTERMS: Postmaster Site
DELIVTERMS: Spamhaus
DELIVTERMS: ISP Feedback Loop (FBL)
Focusing on engagement: What does that really mean?
Friday fun: Electronic mail fraud and more
Get the basics right, and inbox placement will follow – Change.org's deliverability story
I love RFC 8058 and you should, too
Learn how DNS works with this new zine
Let's create an ANIBIMI!
Lifehacker: Make Spam Fries in Your Air Fryer (yum)
No email for Rick Ross
Orange France: New Sending IP ranges
UK/EU GDPR: What is valid consent?
Webinar Alert: Deliverability 101 with Insightly

May 2022

Content Happens: Now what?
DELIVTERMS: Blocklist
DELIVTERMS: Friendly From
DELIVTERMS: Greylisting
Domain warming gone wrong (and recovered): A case study
Here's why you need CAPTCHA
How to Use Hide My Email in Apple’s Mail App...maybe
Let's clean out your Gmail mailbox!
One-click unsubscribe: Don't do it
Reminder: Dots don't matter in Gmail addresses
SpamAssassin: What does this mean?
The summer of BIMI? Current status and upcoming webinar
Validity FBL adds two new ISPs: SFR and Gandi
What constitutes a transactional message?
What is 'OutHorsing' your email?

April 2022

Apple MPP Opens: Spam Resource Data
BIMI: Fake it til you make it
Check out Simon Harper's All About Email
Content Happens
DELIVTERMS: Return-path/Envelope sender
DELIVTERMS: HELO/EHLO
DELIVTERMS: Variable Envelope Return Path/VERP
Domain reputation: Don't share needles
Don't end up in the Hall of Shame
It’s not just you, SMS spam is a nightmare right now
Jennifer Nespola Lantz: Email Authentication Series
Let's send email....with curl!
Mashed: Mistakes Everyone Makes While Cooking Spam
The Evolution of Spam Filters
Understanding Global Unsubscribe functionality in Salesforce Marketing Cloud
What's ProtonMail up to?
When dedicated IPs aren't the best path
Where my BIMIs at?
Wrangle EML files with these cool tools

March 2022

Ask Al: Help! My email address is being used in spam! What do I do? (Updated for 2022)
Do I have to label my marketing mail as an advertisement?
Verizon Wireless says: Forward SMS spam to 7726
What is the Yahoo Complaint Feedback Loop (FBL or CFL) and how do I sign up for it?

February 2022

I need to track clicks and redirects, what should I do?
IP Strategy from Jennifer Nespola Lantz: Dedicated or shared?
Let's talk all about Unsubscribes!
Let's track Apple MPP opens
What Apple didn't break
What of the history of deliverability?

January 2022

BIMI: ISP Support as of January 2022
Gmail's Sender Contact Form: What and why?
Let's talk List-Unsubscribe!
ProtonMail's Enhanced Tracking Protection: A new privacy protection hybrid
Querying Spamhaus via Cloudflare DNS? Read this
The definitive guide to IP warming
Why noreply@ is nogood@ in 2022

Spam Resource Articles from 2021

2021: Coverage centers on post Apple MPP fallout, early BIMI adoption, Microsoft SNDS issues, and shifting Yahoo and AOL infrastructure. The year includes many reference posts, Ask Al troubleshooting, and guidance for navigating growing privacy and authentication pressure.

December 2021

Ask Al: How do I build up my restaurant list?
Ask Al: SPF -all or ~all?
Bad domain/sub-domain choices and unofficial TLDs
Beware the Email Bomb
Forged FBI spam and Formmail Exploits
Kickbox: Can I Share My Sending Domain?
Reference: Comcast Email Domains
Spam sales hit record high for seventh straight year in 2021
Tucows / OpenSRS Infrastructure Changes
You might already be a winner! Check your spam folder

November 2021

3 Ways Pardot Protects Your Email Reports from Non-human Activity
Cornbread Dressing with Spam and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Crooks Commandeer Sam's Club Name to Send Scam Emails
Dead domains: myblackberry.com and @*.blackberry.com
Dead domains: yahoo.cn and yahoo.com.cn
DO U DMARC? Why you should (and FAQ)
Happy holidays, long weekend or not...
HOWTO: Create a BIMI logo file
HOWTO: Query Spamhaus Safely
More on OpenDKIM and Postfix, from EasyDMARC
New at ExactTa...er....Kickbox
New ISP Feedback Loop: tim.it/tin.it/alice.it
OpenDKIM and Postfix: Signing DKIM for multiple domains
Spamhaus: Fake FBI warnings from real FBI servers
Tired of spam? A burner email account could be the answer.
What Does iOS 15 Mean for Email Deliverability during the 2021 Busy Season?
Zimbra Anti-Spam Best Practices in 2021

October 2021

1Password gets its own ‘hide my email’ feature
A DMARC Dictionary from dmarcian (and more!)
Apple iOS 15 Mail Privacy Protection Changes: A roundup
Be careful: Using Spamhaus with open resolvers is bad news
CheetahMail merges with CM Group
Cloudflare plans to eat Proofpoint's lunch?
Comcast.net has new sending IP addresses
DNS problems causing email delays to mail.mil
Fastmail dealing with DDOS attack
Google Postmaster Tools and DMARC reporting offline
Google Postmaster Tools (GPT) is back
iPost: 5 Ways to Improve Email Deliverability
OK, you've been unblocked. Now what?
Sinch acquires Pathwire for $1.9B
Spam Resource is going weekly
Spamhaus: When doorbells go rogue!
Taking holiday prep to the next level: 2021 edition
THE DRIP: How to Build a Winback Campaign with Pardot
Vegan spam? Again? I can't even.
What is an EML file?
Where did Facebook go yesterday?

September 2021

Ask Al: Help! I'm getting bounces for mail I didn't send
Call for Deliverability Monitoring Vendors: MailMonitor
Intuit confirms $12B deal to buy Mailchimp
Quick and Easy Email Attachments in Linux
Reference: MAGY (Microsoft, AOL, Gmail, Yahoo) Email Domains
Tis the season to be prepared
UPC/Vodafone Dead Domains in Hungary
Yahoo is Yahoo again!

August 2021

BIMI: ISP Support as of August 2021
BIMI: Let's learn more about VMCs
Dead email domain: us.army.mil
Getting false positive DNS errors when sending to ATT/SBC?
How to use custom email domains with iCloud+
Mailhog: A neat fake SMTP server
mb2md: A very useful linux/unix email utility
Microsoft SNDS: Common errors and how to handle them
Reference: All AT&T Email Domains
Spam Resource launched 20 years ago today
Validity and Spamhaus Launch Partnership to Educate Email Marketers and Enable Safer Outreach
Why does Microsoft hate you?
Wombatmail COI/DOI update: Now with reCAPTCHA!
ZoneMTA: Open source, large volume sending MTA

July 2021

Beware the link shorteners -- or at least, be aware of the risks
Dead email domain: excite.com
DuckDuckGo launches new tracker-blocking duck.com email domain
Gmail announces general support for BIMI
When is a deliverability issue not a deliverability issue?

June 2021

Apple WWDC Announcement: Privacy and Pixel Tracking
Pathwire Announces Acquisition of Email Optimization Platform Email on Acid
Smart!
SNDS shows no data from June 17th - June 21st
UK ICO fines credit card company for marketing content in service emails

May 2021

Changes to the Spam Act in Australia
Email security vendor Agari acquired by HelpSystems
Google will automatically enroll users in two-factor authentication soon
Pardot Email Unsubscribes Report: Understand Which Caused Email Opt-outs
Requesting pre-emptive accommodation from Microsoft
Verizon sells AOL and Yahoo

April 2021

Abusix: 8 ways on how ESPs and DNSBL providers can collaborate better
Ask Al: What if domains don't match?
ISP Deliverability Guide: Mail.de
Cómo complacer a Gmail, en Español
Fastmail now supports BIMI
Seeing "recipient getting too much mail" delays at Gmail?
Verizon (Yahoo) launches new sender-focused portal
What identifies an email message?

March 2021

Let's report some spam!
Spamhaus updates lookup tool

February 2021

Friday funny: It IS spam, but...
Help! I got spammed! What should I do?
How to Back Up Your Most Important Emails...?
Open Tracking is evil and you should be ashamed
Proofpoint: Facebook, stop taking our domains away!
Slovak Telekom email service has shut down
SMTP Field Manual: Updated!
Spamcop glitch over the weekend; since fixed
Spamhaus warns: Watch for new (error) response codes
Why some people get more phishing emails and malware spam

January 2021

DMARC, BIMI, B2B, Mobile & More in 2021...
How to find ISP Contact Information
Lashback UBL blocklist: OFFLINE
Terms of Service: From anti-spam to content takedown
Threatening email sent to 5,000 parents, students through Massachusetts school's account
Vegan spam is a thing that exists now

Spam Resource Articles from 2020

2020: COVID era sending challenges are in focus, alongside rapid changes in Gmail, Microsoft, and Yahoo filtering behavior. Topics also include IP warming, engagement signals, new tools, and an increase in scam and abuse driven content tied to global disruption.

December 2020

Mailauth: Check SPF, DKIM, DMARC, ARC, BIMI and MTA-STS
Millions of inappropriate and racist spam emails sent to Seminole County middle school, high school students
Top Five Spam Resource Posts of 2020
Gmail bounce issues on 12/14-12/15
Validity: How to Please Gmail
Validity Universal Feedback Loop Service adds 2 new ISPs

November 2020

AMP for Email: Current Status
Atlanta is number one!
Body Found in Canada Identified as Neo-Nazi Spam King
Honestly? Don't send to Gmail over IPv6
New settings for smart features and personalization in Gmail
Preventing Deliverability Holiday Issues
Swaks: New version available
Vodafone Germany: Domains and Infrastructure Changes

October 2020

Lexology: Vietnam’s New Decree 91 Sets Out Stricter Anti-Spam Regulations
Scams and spam: USPTO users face epidemic of spurious communications
Spam calls are hindering efforts to contact trace and track Covid-19
What are spamtraps? (Updated for 2020)

September 2020

AMP: The next big thing? Not at Outlook.com
DMA Email Council: How to Use Registration Forms to Get Marketing Opt-In
Do you even Swaks, bro?
Edison Software unveils OnMail email service
Let's send mail...through Gmail!
Mixed Content and Mixed Messages
Robservations: Tribune Publishing apologizes for phony phishing expedition
The Ultimate SPAM Cookbook
What is IP warming?

August 2020

Email Deliverability Unfiltered: Gmail Tabs
Gmail spam filters don't know what party you represent
Help! I'm blocked at Microsoft! What do I do?
How often should you rotate your DKIM key?
Howto: Forward email automatically
Need simple DNSBL/blocking list tracking?
Quick Tip: Core Subscribers
Validity launches Everest, their new "email success platform"

July 2020

BYE: My first impressions
Call for Deliverability Monitoring Vendors: Glockapps
Gmail Spam Attack on June 30th
GMX and Web.de to offer Deutsche Post Informed Delivery-style Service
Google announces BIMI Support for Gmail
Is that ISP down?
ESP Abuse/Spam Contact List
Re-visiting mail forwarding in a DMARC world
Small Mailserver Best Current Practices
The Drip: Automatically Remove Spam Leads From Pardot
Top 10 Email Security Blogs...from 2010

June 2020

Best Practices for Email Deliverability During COVID-19
HEY: My first impressions
New email vendor? Expect your deliverability to plummet… at first
Reporting Spam to Apple from your iCloud Mail account
Reporting spam with Outlook on iOS
What IP address sent me that email message?
What is the Vade Threat List? How do I request removal?
Blocked at t-online.de?
You WANT spam folder delivery?

May 2020

Dead DNSBLs: all.rbl.webiron.net and bsb.spamlookup.net
Dead domains: upcmail.cz, chello.cz, karneval.cz, mistral.cz and mbox.dkm.cz
Finally! A font-based solution to the Scunthorpe problem
Help! All mail to privaterelay.appleid.com users is bouncing!
How to Send a Text Message Via Email
Tony Webster: Investigating using domain & SSL info
ISP Deliverability Guide: 1&1 (Web.de, GMX, Mail.com)
ISP Deliverability Guide: Apple's iCloud Mail
Yikes! Cyber-Criminals Increasingly Using CAPTCHA Walls in Phishing Attacks
Your periodic reminder: Please register with abuse.net

April 2020

Ask Al: Help! How best to send to 70 friends at once?
Beware of questionable and/or bad guys trying to take advantage of you in a rough time
Blocking emails to role accounts: Best practice?
Bounteous explains AMP for Email
Call for Deliverability Monitoring Vendors: ZeroBounce
Google: Protecting businesses against cyber threats during COVID-19 and beyond
Outlook.com has tabs now, too?
Spam-a-licious!
Why coronavirus scammers can send fake emails from real domains

March 2020

A few COVID-19 subject lines
Amazon Web Services (AWS) now blocking block port 25
April Fools Day is Cancelled
Call for Deliverability Monitoring Vendors: Postmastery
Everything marketers need to know about BIMI: The latest email standard
ISPs do filter political mail
Other Deliverability Monitoring Vendors?
Reference: All Virgin Media (UK) domains
Reference: Web.de, GMX and Mail.com Domains
Spam and reputation

February 2020

Automatically Resend Emails to Non-Openers With Pardot
DMARC.org: DMARC Policies Increase 300% over 2019
Fun with Double Opt-in
Validity to Acquire 250ok
Verizon (Yahoo) announces new Email Deliverability and Performance Feeds
Why Email Engagement Is the Holy Grail of Email Deliverability
You should check out: Really Good Emails

January 2020

2020: What's next?
Apache SpamAssassin 3.4.4 now available
Europe is different and why this matters for US-based companies
Following best practices for sending to Gmail
Got placed in the Gmail promo tab? You're not alone.
Is 2020 the year of BIMI?
Mashable's wrong (sort of) -- empty your inbox!

Spam Resource Articles from 2019

2019: A year of groundwork and transition, with sustained attention on BIMI’s early progress, Gmail filtering advances, and mailbox provider consolidation under Verizon Media. Posts focus on authentication alignment, blocklist risks, and how filters actually work.

December 2019

How the military made Spam an iconic American brand
ISP Deliverability Guide: Microsoft OLC
ISP Deliverability Guide: Yahoo/AOL (Updated for 2022)

November 2019

Best Practices on Domain Name Choices: What TLD should I use?
Can I use FOIA to source lists?
Egypt’s economic court fines insecticide company for SMS spam
Google: No favors at Gmail
SPAM Alert!
Yahoo Groups is changing

October 2019

Another day, another dead DNSBL
Best Practices on Domain Name Choices
Charter/Roadrunner bounces?
Dead email domain: ono.com
How Email Spam Filters Work Based On Algorithms
How not to get people to open your emails
Need example SMTP bounces for different ISPs?
New XNND (Wombatmail) DNS Tool Update!
Sender ID is back!! No, wait...
Spamhaus Blocklist Changes

September 2019

BIMI: Current Status? Should we bother?
Blacklists and multi-client impact: The risk is real
HOWTO: Work around Office 365 Unblocking Issues
Is email spam a solved problem?
Let's go buy a list!
SPF and DKIM Alignment: What are they and why do they matter?
What about AOL?

August 2019

ARS Technica: How to read email headers

July 2019

BIMI Moves Forward as Google Commits to Pilot Program

May 2019

Google Postmaster Tools doesn’t like us. How can I fix it?
Mailkit's BIMI Inspector Tool

April 2019

AOL & Yahoo Mailbox Merger: It’s Done!
When Gmail Was First Announced, People Thought It Was an April Fools' Joke

March 2019

AMP: The next big thing?
Hello, Verizon Media Postmaster!
How Do I Avoid the Spam Filter?
How to Make Sure Important Emails Stay Out of Your Spam Folder
The latest trend at D.C. restaurants? Spam. And it’s delicious.

February 2019

2018: Did I get it right?
DMARC Policies Up 250% In 2018
Fun while it lasted...
Gmail: Improving spam filtering with TensorFlow
Gmail SPF Status of Best Guess: What does it mean?
GPT Downtime

January 2019

Characters in the local part of an email address
Stop using NJABL! Now!

Spam Resource Articles from 2018

2018: Marked by GDPR fallout, DMARC policy tightening, and early brand indicators like icons and BIMI precursors. The articles mix compliance anxiety, engagement myths, and technical guidance as inbox rules visibly hardened.

December 2018

How to win friends and influence people?

November 2018

4 Holiday Deliverability Tips
Report: ‘Trump’ most common spam term during run-up to elections

October 2018

How to Recover from Email Marketing Mistakes
Sender ID? No, don't bother.
The future of email?

September 2018

Howto: Create a Gravatar brand icon
Howto: Make your brand icon display in Gmail
Inbox by Gmail: Bye bye
Spam in a post-GDPR world?

August 2018

Google moves gmail.com to "quarantine" DMARC policy (for subdomains)
It's time to re-engage!
Let's track!
List Bombing: History and Prevention
Scunthorpe Redux
Thank you for signing me up!

July 2018

Apple Moves to "Quarantine" DMARC Policy
Dead email domain: tesco.net
Happy birthday, spam (the good kind)!
Return Path launches Universal FBL
The 250ok Deliverability Guide
The secret to disconnecting? Email does it better.

June 2018

A spam score of 33.8!
Gmail's Promotional tab: How to escape
Locking down your unused domains
Revisiting Spam, the Documentary
The big red warning box of doom
The email problem no one is talking about: mistaken identity
XNND.com is 11 years old today

May 2018

AOL: No More Whitelisting
Smells like GDPR Season
Spam Cannibal blocking list is dead
Spam recall: For real!
Unroll.me to close to EU users
Vodafone Ireland: vodafone.ie is a dead email domain
Whoops! Cyberlogic DNSBL Broken

April 2018

40 Years of Spam
Cloudflare Launches 1.1.1.1 DNS Service
Goodbye, goo.gl
Lycos Mail: Free accounts to be eliminated
Reference: Apple email domains
This weekend: Gmail spam, from me, to me

March 2018

250ok on DMARC adoption among top US colleges
DMARC: sp= policy not always needed
File under obvious? Engagement rules!
Fun fact: Gmail has two domains
Howto: Disable your Gmail spam folder
PSA: Time to update your ReCAPTCHA

February 2018

AOL/Yahoo Transition Update: AOL DMARC & FBL Reports
Ask Al: Group mail is being blocked, what do I do?
Best US cell carrier for phone spam protection? T-Mobile.
Gmail & B2B Spam
Gmail: Filtering mail into folders
How Email Works
List-Unsubscribe header: You need it!

January 2018

AOL Announces Mail System MX Changes
Canada and Japan joining forces to stop spam
Challenges in 2018?
Dead email domain: alltel.net
History Repeating: Challenge/Response again?!
Isleton Spam Festival: There's still time
More on "Smart Unsubscribing"
More Transitions: AOL/Yahoo Consolidation
TinyLetter: Don't freak out just yet!
Using ClamAV? Update Now

Spam Resource Articles from 2017

2017: Focused on growing awareness of DMARC, list unsubscribe mechanics, and provider driven changes at Gmail, AOL, and Verizon. The year reflects a shift from theory to operational reality for many senders.

December 2017

Did anyone recently notice that the Spamhaus XBL just got really big?
Inbox by Gmail will remind you to unsubscribe from unread promo emails
Help! I'm blocked at Verizon.net! (Updated for 2024)
Hotmail: Twenty years ago this month...
Krebs: Phishers Are Upping Their Game. So Should You.
LaPoste Now Offering DKIM-based ISP Feedback Loop
On the 12th day of Listmas...
The 12 Days of Listmas
Top Five Spam Resource Posts of 2017

November 2017

Vodafone (New Zealand) Email Closure

October 2017

Holiday Season is Here: What to do
October 11: Spam in the News

September 2017

Hotmail UK MX Change
HTML Email: JWZ's fault?
Whoops: iOS 11 Mail Microsoft Issues

August 2017

16 Years And Counting
DMARC will (not fully) fix it!
Finding DMARC when it isn't there?
Haiku Break

July 2017

AOL: Reputation corrected and request denied
Most federal departments aren’t using DMARC: Wyden

May 2017

New Anti-Phishing Protection in Gmail on Android
Text to Image ratios in email
Verizon Email Transition Update
Why list-unsub doesn't let you "opt-down"?

April 2017

Orange UK Email Closure
Senders: What should you do about verizon.net?

March 2017

AOL User Mike Pence
Do you care about WHOIS?
IBM Patents Out-of-Office Reply functionality
New Outlook.com/Hotmail IP ranges
Password Reset Emails: Best Practices
Verizon Users: Leave, or move to AOL

February 2017

Guest Post: Chris Truitt: A Guide to Microsoft SNDS
Sean Spicer and WHOIS
What can SNDS tell you?

January 2017

The Scunthorpe Problem
What is UCENET?

Spam Resource Articles from 2016

2016: A foundational year covering core deliverability myths, SPF and DKIM realities, early DMARC adoption, and recurring spam and scam patterns. Let's reset assumptions and explain what senders can and cannot control.

December 2016

5 Reasons List-Unsubscribe Concerns Are Overblown
Ask Al: What of Senderbase?
List-unsubscribe on Gmail: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Microsoft breaks DKIM signature?
Yuck: iCloud Calendar Spam

November 2016

Barracuda (was) down
Email and the 2016 Presidential Election
Gmail Updated on iOS
Holiday Season Tip: Don't Experiment
MegaRBL DNSBL FUBAR
Putting Spam to the culinary test
Virgin Media is so rustic and artisan you get to hand-sort your own spam

October 2016

Best practices for parked domains
Beware: Student loan forgiveness spam
Checking an SPF record with the Kitterman SPF Validator
Now you can read your email on Xbox One
Obama Administration Says Text-Spam Law Is Constitutional
Yahoo! Mail: No Forwarding for you

September 2016

7 Common Deliverability Myths Busted
AOL announces Alto, new mobile email app
Bye bye, SmartScreen
Deliverability Problems: What You Can't Fix
DMARC Support in Mailman
Doing the Math on Purchased Lists
Gmail providing easy-to-read Auth Results
Gmail to Support Responsive Design + More
Not receiving Yahoo FBL Confirmations? What to do
Subscription Mailbombing: Must Read

August 2016

Dead email domain: facebook.com
Do you need COI/DOI? Probably.
Gmail now requiring SPF or DKIM
Where do I get a new IP address?
Yahoo: Deferring Inbound Connections Today

July 2016

Spamcop: Declines to send reports to ESPs
Steve's Co-Reg Inbox Saga
What is SPF lockdown?
Wired on Email Reputation
Yahoo, AOL to both be owned by Verizon

June 2016

Apple iOS 10 to support List Unsubscribe
Can't send to Dad, sorry.
FBI Raids Spammer Outed by KrebsOnSecurity
Internet, Web Enjoy One Final Day As Proper Nouns
LinkedIn for list building: Still bad news
Putting the "free" myth to bed
Sanford Wallace gets jail time for FB scam

May 2016

Cisco PIX/ASA: Disable SMTP Fixup
Google Postmaster Tools: Domain vs. IP address Data Thresholds
Protect Your Brand and Reputation
Scott Walker's got a list for you
Verizon.net moving to AOL
What is phishing?
Yahoo, Gmail and Spam in the news

April 2016

B2B Spam is Dumb and You're Dumb and This Other Guy is Dumb, too
Google Postmaster Tools: Not receiving data?
I'm blocking all mail from .top
Researchers help shut down spam botnet that enslaved 4,000 Linux machines
Spamhaus to indicate DROP status via DNS

March 2016

Don’t Be Afraid to Say Buh-Bye
Email inventor Ray Tomlinson dies
Here's why I unsubscribed
How to Optimize Your SPF Record
Mail.ru announces additional DMARC domain restrictions
Sender ID Doesn't Matter in 2016
Small scale, unsolicited, and sustainable...
Spamhaus Releases "Worst TLDs" List
SPF Still Matters in 2016
The spam map of the United States

February 2016

Contest Signups for Lead Generation: The Good and the Bad
How to track ISP delays
International Yahoo Domains to get DMARC "Reject" Policy
Let's Talk About Leadgen and Payday Loans
Mail.ru to Adopt p=reject DMARC Policy
Outlook.com Got a Big Update Today
Prune Inactive Subscribers: Y/N?
What happened to McAfee and Postini?

January 2016

10 Simple List-Building Tips
Does anyone at AT&T netops read Spam Resource?
Feedback Loop (FBL) Resources from M3AAWG
Making it Easy to Unsubscribe (#1)
Making it Easy to Unsubscribe (#2)

Spam Resource Articles from 2015

2015: DMARC maturity takes center stage, with attention on reject policies, mailing lists, forwarding, and large provider changes at Yahoo, Gmail, and Orange. The articles show the industry adjusting to authentication as an operational requirement rather than an experiment.

December 2015

2015: The Year of DMARC?
Congrats to Return Path!
French ISP Orange shutting down voila.fr mail domain
Mail forwarding in a DMARC world
Use the SECOND WEIRD TRICK when implementing your DMARC record
What RRVS Doesn't Fix
Yahoo! Mail China is no more

November 2015

From address: Don't use an invalid domain name
Gmail to flag unencrypted email connections
Is my DKIM key Insecure?
Use this ONE WEIRD TRICK when implementing a DMARC record
Using AdBlock? Using Yahoo! Mail?
Verizon Retiring Inactive Email Addresses

October 2015

Add Other Email Accounts to Yahoo Mail
Additional Yahoo Domains to get DMARC "Reject" Policy
DMARC: Gmail "p=reject" policy is coming

September 2015

Another day, another dead blacklist....
Google now allows you to "block" senders in Gmail
⛄ Put a snowman in your subject line ⛄

August 2015

HostWinds: A Turnaround Story

July 2015

1,072,835 Page views!
Oops: Gmail Spam Filter Changes Bite Linus Torvalds

June 2015

DMARC and mailing lists: We survived!
Domain Registration Privacy: Another View
Return Path: When is it OK to Use a Shared IP Address?

May 2015

DeliverNow: New Filters @ Orange, SFR, Laposte
ESPs and Purchased Lists

April 2015

Domains clear.net and clearwire.net have been retired
Sending mail over IPv6? Authenticate!

March 2015

Great work, MAAWG!

February 2015

DMARC and Mailing Lists: A Roundup
House Introduces Email Privacy Bill
Spamhaus Sued for Libel in UK

January 2015

Amazon Starting Email Service
Ask Al: Help! AHBL is blocking inbound mail!
Microsoft Updates Use of List Unsubscribe Header
Yahoo Shuts Down Its Email Service In China

Spam Resource Articles from 2014

2014: Dominated by the Yahoo DMARC policy change and its fallout across mailing lists, groups, and discussion software. The year serves as a crash course in DMARC mechanics, rewriting, and ecosystem impact. Spoiler alert: We survived!

November 2014

Third party post-purchase research emails: spam?

October 2014

Is Yahoo.com a wireless domain?

September 2014

Interesting SBLs is back

July 2014

Ask Al: Should I add a DMARC record to fix the Yahoo issue?
Does Gmail use Spamhaus blacklists?
Pre-order Spam Nation by Brian Krebs
Purchased lists? DOA.

June 2014

106 miles to Chicago
Blast from the past: Challenge/Response Filtering?
Check out this neat thing: Email Privacy Tester
DMARC does only one thing (but pretty well)
OpenDKIM & SpamAssassin Gotchas on Ubuntu 12.04

May 2014

Gmail’s message to email marketers: Focus on engagement
Signing outbound list mail with OpenDKIM
The Current State of TLS over SMTP?
Yahoo Groups rewriting from addresses to handle DMARC policy
Yahoo on Yahoo's new DMARC Policy

April 2014

AOL Adopts New DMARC Policy
Ask Al: Is my personal domain affected by DMARC?
Google Groups rewriting from addresses to handle DMARC policy
How OnlineGroups.net used the Yahoo! DMARC crisis to make a better Mailing List Manager
How popular is Yahoo Mail?
Masking WHOIS Information: No Abuse.net for you
Payday Loans: Not Even Necessary
Run an email discussion list? Here's how to deal with DMARC
Up in arms about Yahoo's DMARC Policy? You are not alone.
Who uses a Yahoo from address?
Yahoo DMARC Policy Change Roundup
Yahoo DMARC Policy: Why they did it.
Yahoo Statement on new DMARC policy

February 2014

SpamAssassin 3.4.0 Released

January 2014

Gmail Oops
Gmail: Reach the people you know more easily

Spam Resource Articles from 2013

2013: Coverage includes DMARC warnings, Gmail tabs, two factor authentication, spam economics, and notable court cases. My posts from this year highlight increasing complexity in inbox filtering and sender responsibility.

December 2013

Ask Al: Help! My email address is being used in spam! What do I do?
Rest in Peace, Nadine
The Return of the Open Relay

November 2013

Ask Al: Remove me from APEWS?
Checking the SBL "Latest Listings" Page
Dynamic Dolphin Dies
Looking at a spam stream: The story of Jimmy Walker
Payday Loan Stories on NPR

September 2013

Gmail Tabs Roundup
Ken Magill on Gmail Tabs
LinkedIn Sued by Users
Mail merge?
SpamArrest Loses in Court

June 2013

CAN-SPAM Ruling: Domain Ownership Masking Deceptive
DMARC: Please Be Careful!

May 2013

A New DNSBL: DNSBL Chile
Apple Rolls out Two-Factor Authentication
Twitter Rolls Out Two-Factor Authentication

April 2013

COI: Another List Manager's View (or two)
Does COI make sense?
Dutchman Arrested in Spamhaus DDoS
Payday Loans in the News
Sky.com Transitioning to Yahoo! Mail backend
Tons of Misdirected Mail
Two-step auth coming to Microsoft?
Worst Write-up?

March 2013

Crazy on Display
Spamhaus DDoS in the News
That Wasn’t Funny

February 2013

Another Dead DNSBL
On Spamhaus and Anonymity

January 2013

A bit of spam history
On the Recent Yahoo! Mail Exploit

Spam Resource Articles from 2012

2012: Examining engagement, complaints, transactional spam, anti spam laws like CASL, and early DMARC origins. The year blends regulatory awareness with mailbox provider behavior analysis.

December 2012

Friends in high places?

November 2012

Ask Al: What of the MAPS RBL?
Email is Not Anonymous

October 2012

CRTC Issues Updated Canadian Spam Law Guidelines

September 2012

Email Append Gone Wrong
More Misdirected Messages
RFC Ignorant Blacklist Shutting Down

August 2012

COPPA in the news
No Permission = Bad Experience

July 2012

Guest Post: Canada's New Anti-Spam Bill - Is Anyone Listening?
The Transactional Unsub

June 2012

Change your LinkedIn Password
Defining Persimmon
SMS Spam in the News
Transactional Spam: It Happens

May 2012

Neutraceutical Spammer Sentenced to 2 Years
Defining Permission
Engagement – Buzzword, or a rule to live by?
How Subscriber Complaints Affect Inbox Placement
MAAWG: Internet Police?
Read the Comments
What does your email address say about you?

April 2012

A flippant, but true, response.
CASL Slips to 2013
SMS Spam: Google Voice is Helpful
Spam Complaints Matter

March 2012

Does Hotmail use the SBL (Spamhaus Block List)?
Inside Gmail: A Whole Lotta Nothing?
Send Less Mail, Make More Money
Whitelisting – A partial solution to Inbox Woes?
Why did Gmail junk that message?
You Get the Deliverability You Deserve

February 2012

It's not all spam, is it?
A wizard did it.

January 2012

CheetahMail "Gives Up" Email Append
A Heck of an Oops
Where did DMARC come from?

Spam Resource Articles from 2011

2011: Focusing on permission, append practices, ISP enforcement, and the evolving role of Spamhaus and other blocklists, and I take a sharp tone about accountability for senders and data brokers.

December 2011

2011: The Year in Spam
Ask Al: Help, I'm blocked at AT&T!
Netprospex Blacklisted By Spamhaus

November 2011

The Passing of J.D. Falk
What does Spamhaus think of email append?

October 2011

Dutch ISP Picks Fight with Spamhaus

September 2011

Another Experience with Email Append
Email Append: Not a Great Practice

August 2011

MAPS/Trend Micro Spamtrap Issues?
No surprise: Holomaxx loss.
Push Clickers Across the Conversion Finish Line

July 2011

What's your (telephone) reputation?

June 2011

Is DKIM evil?

May 2011

AOL blocked? Don't try this at home.
DNSBL Safety Report 5/14/2011

April 2011

Is this permission?
Spamcop Blacklisting: Should you care?

March 2011

China cleans up spam problem
Comcast’s Impressive System for Notifying Infected Users
No false-starts, do-overs, or mulligans for Email
On the Legality of Spam Filtering
Score one for the Good Guys
Spamhaus and URL Shortening Services
What changed?
Why are you in my inbox?

February 2011

Cloudmark developing SMS spam filter
Goodmail to Shut Down
How to Start a Spam trap
Is there a war on small mail servers?
Making Permission Assumptions
Thought of the Day: Permission
Who/what is RESMAIL?

January 2011

AMENDMENT IS FUTILE
An Informal Definition of Spam
Dennis Dayman: Watch out for DeepWWW
Guest Post: Huey Callison: Reader Feedback Week
How to Generate Leads with LinkedIn
LinkedIn: A list-building opportunity?
Microsoft, Holomaxx, ISPs Reading Your Email
Top 5 Spam Resource Posts in 2010

Spam Resource Articles from 2010

2010: CAN SPAM myths, spam litigation, botnets, permission standards, list growth, and blacklist operations. I try to position myself as both an educator and critic of bad industry practices.

December 2010

All About List Growth
Ask Al: How do I grow my list?
Backscatter from Microsoft Exchange
Canada Passes Anti-Spam Legislation
Gov't Needs Warrant to Search Email
Have you checked out NiX Spam?
HolomaXx Dismisses Suits against Return Path, Cisco IronPort
How To (or How Not To) Operate a Blacklist
Mark Brownlow on Permission
More on Growing Your List
Quick Note: AOL Inbound Email Issues
Spamhaus under DDOS from AnonOps (Wikileaks.info)
Spouse Can't Hack Your Email, says Michigan
Venkat Balasubramani: Portrait of a Lawyer Turned Anti-Spammer
Wikileaks Mirror Malware Warning

November 2010

Holomaxx Link Roundup
Holomaxx suing Microsoft, Others
More Spam from Newegg?
Netprospex: "Verified" really?
Please Help us Kill Zombies!
Size isn’t the only metric
The Truth about Permission
What is bulletproof hosting?
What You Suggest Will Kill Email for Everyone

October 2010

Ask Al: Senderbase.org?
Changes to DNSWL.org
Godaddy blocklisted by AHBL
Magill Has Questions
Payday Loan Marketer Settles with FTC
Rendering & CAN-SPAM Compliance
The Rise and Fall of a Spam Plaintiff
Selling Customer Data: Good idea?
Top 4 CAN-SPAM Myths

September 2010

ARF: Now a Proposed Standard
HR2221: Data Accountability and Trust Act
Magill-Meat Love Fest
Rich Kulawiec Booted from SPAM-L
What is Hashbusting?
WHOIS Wasn't Hacked

August 2010

Co-RegData.com: Content Thieves
Newegg.com: How not to handle a spam complaint
Stupid Search-Trick Watch: Content Thieves Strike!

July 2010

Does the First Amendment forbid spam filtering?
First Amendment Restrictions on DNSBLs
Google: Bulletproof Hosting Provider
Is it OK to block political speech?

June 2010

Does CAN-SPAM Cover Affiliate Spam?
How to avoid getting swindled on your email lists
Let's Talk About the Rules
NY AG Taking Legal Action Against Tagged.com
Spamhaus Case: e360 Award Slashed to $27k
Twitter Blacklisted by Spamhaus
The view from a blacklist operator
Who's Sharing Your Personal Info?

May 2010

Bad idea: Sending from the Cloud
CAN-SPAM Myth #2: This Law Makes it OK to Spam
CAN-SPAM Myth #3: Password Protecting the Unsub Page is OK
CAN-SPAM Myth #4: Doesn't Apply to Non-Profits
Groan: .co TLD to be opened to the public
How Not to Respond to Public Spam Allegations
If It’s Not Permission-Based Email Marketing, It’s Just Not Worth it
In Memoriam: Stefan Pollard
Recommended Reading: Fatal System Error

April 2010

Alleged Spammers Using Google Apps: Bad Idea
Beware: Free Gift Card Ads
CAN-SPAM Compliance Impacts Deliverability?
CAN-SPAM Myth #1: Applies Only to Spam
Do you track your opt-in data?
Harvard Business Review Is DEAD Wrong About Opt-Out
The Pernicious Effect of Gordon vs. Virtumundo
Recent Spam Litigation Activity in California Courts
Speaking of Tagged.com

March 2010

Alan Ralsky Goes to Jail, Does Not Pass Go
Arrests made in "Mariposa" botnet that infected 13 million PCs
Classmates.com Settles Lawsuit over Deceptive Emails
Identify anonymous domains with anonwhois.org
Is Online Anonymity a Bad Thing?
ISPs: Preventing Outbound Spam?
A Note on Dutch "Tell-A-Friend" Regulation
On Defending Jigsaw & Similar...
Quick Hits
Spamhaus: Waledac Botnet Culling Had Little Effect
Twitter Has Spammers, Too
Virgin Mobile Settles Spam Allegations for 22,000 AUD

February 2010

Ask Al: Additional Received Headers?
Bad Advice in the B2B Space
ClickZ: Goodmail CEO Steps Down
Don't Spam the Judge
More on Netprospex
Surprise! Internet filled with Junk
Tagged.com Wins Spam Lawsuit
WHOIS Privacy Protect -- What Spamfighters Think
Word to the Wise Delivery Wiki

January 2010

AOOGAH!! DIVE! DIVE!
Bad News in 2010, if You Suck
The Beatings Will Continue...Forever
Brazil Overtakes US as Spam Leader
The E360 Pantsing Continues
Email to Die in 2010
How Tradeshow Email Lists Can Get You Blacklisted
In-Application Email Signup: Ew, Really?
Ken Magill Leaves Penton
Pivotal Veracity Acquired by Unica Corp.
Spam Complainants Are Sometimes Angry
SpamAssassin 2010 bug
What is Zeusmail.org?
Who is this Ken Magill guy anyway?
Work-at-Home Spam, Scam or both?

Spam Resource Articles from 2009

2009: Deliverability troubleshooting, blocklist navigation, legal rulings, and permission based marketing. Ask Al posts abound, reflecting increased demand for practical sender advice.

December 2009

CAN-SPAM Plaintiff Spanking Appeal Rejected
The Case of the 500-mile Email
Did you catch that?
Fire up the ROFLCopter!
"Herbal King" Spanking Continues
Is an Unsubscribe Link Required?
IT'S A RACKET!
More Anti-Spamhaus Fun
Not How It Works
On List Growth and Buying Lists
Permission, Co-Reg Sucks, and ESPs
Receiving Duplicate List Messages?
Top Five Spam Resource Posts in 2009
Wahhh, "Just Hit Delete"

November 2009

Ask Al: Delivering a Monthly Newsletter to 350 People?
Ask Al: What are filters checking?
Breaking News: Spambag is Still Dead
"Herbal King" Ringleader Fined $15 Million
Is email dead?
Karmasphere Reputation Services Shutting Down
The Legitimate Email Marketer Isn't
Loren McDonald on FISUE Syndrome
O HAI TAG44 WTF?
Ralsky Gets 51 Months in Prison
Two New Zealand Spammers Fined

October 2009

Another Day, Another 419 Scam
Ask Al: Bad things happening?
Ask Al: The Strange Case Of The Help Request Gone Awry
Auth Don't Fix That!
Barry Don't Play That
C-27 Canada's Electronic Commerce Protection Act passes Committee Review
FRIDAY LOLZ: BALLOON BOY SPAM!
I Support Opt-In Legislation for Canada
Judge rejects TD Ameritrade breach settlement
Let Us Count Up The Fail
A message from me...but not!
Spamhaus, Snoeshow spam, and You
Staying Safe Online
Too Much Contact
Top Five Tips for Dealing with Blacklists (Updated for 2024)
A Twitter Conversation About List Rental
Why do we need an opt-in spam law?
Zombie Blacklists: Life Goes On

September 2009

Ask Al: Help! I'm Blacklisted!
Ask Al: Trouble Sending From My Own Domain?
Breaking: Goodmail Sued for Patent Infringement
DUDE: YR DOIN' IT WRONG!
Domain Reputation and Recipient Engagement
Don't Lie About Safe Harbor
Don't Share Needles!
Good Advice for Senders
Google Voice and Phone "Spam"
Happy Birthday, Internet!
How Google Looks at Spam Complaints
Internet Miracle Cures For Everything!
Jigsaw Blacklisted by Spamhaus
Make it stop!
New FBL from Tucows/OpenSRS
New Maine Law Came...and Went
Online Privacy in the UK
Pivotal Veracity on Domain Reputation and ISP Insights
Quick Hit: Blagojevich Spam
Rocky Mountain Bank WTF
Spam Resource, New and Improved
Symantec Says Illinois is #5
You Can't Buy an Existing Business Relationship

August 2009

July 2009

Ask Al: Blocklisted by Spambag?
Ask Al: Checking email addresses against URIBLs?
Postini: Google's take on e-mail security
Usenet.com Gets Ass Handed To It By Court

June 2009

Ask Al: Blacklisted IP Address?
Ask Al: Getting my Controversial Email Delivered
Ask Al: Help prevent a bad thing!
Check Your CAN-SPAM Checklist
SORBS Information Roundup

May 2009

Help! I'm spam blocked by DCC!
Help! My address was forged in spam!

April 2009

Barnes and Noble Emails Opt-Outs
Speaking of Business Contact Databases

March 2009

E360 Gets an Important Bit Wrong
JC Penney Does WHAT?
SCOTUS Declines Review of VA Anti-Spam Law Case

January 2009

Abuse Mailbox on Google Apps?
AT&T's 'American Idol' Text Message Stunt Backfires
Email Append and New Domain Spam
Neat Hack: Re-Assassinate
No more, Direct Magazine

Spam Resource Articles from 2008

2008: Digging into backscatter, sender reputation, political email, data sourcing scandals, and blacklist governance. A balance of technical explanation with commentary on industry behavior and public policy.

December 2008

EmailAppenders Has a Question
Michigan State to student: Political e-mail is spam

November 2008

Gmail Tempfailing
Ken Magill, Laura Atkins on Zoominfo
Spam from Postini Servers

October 2008

Ask Al: Help! Am I blocklisted?
Authorities Shut Down Spam Ring
Backscatter Goes Mainstream
Blocking list BCP and Dead DNSBLs
Message Timing FAIL
Spam from Randolph Wine Cellars
Spammers: SambaMail and The Data Supplier
Tell me about this new opt-out list!

September 2008

Friday Funny: Give Her Big Meat
Ken Magill Defends Blacklists
Virginia Spam Law Overturned: Doesn’t Matter

August 2008

Beware the Fake News Spam
Don't Spam to Apologize for Spam
Godaddy misusing the PBL?
List Reconfirmation Example
More on Pizza Hut
On Political Speech, DOI, and Mr. Poopyhead
Ow, my Irony hurts!
Political Sending Reputation
ReturnPath Buys Habeas
What is a Sender?
Yahoo Insights and Subcriber Engagement

July 2008

Backscatter in Detail
COI Can't Protect Against Stupid
Ken Magill on the Eddie Davidson Coverage

June 2008

E360 Failure Update
When Terminology Attacks

May 2008

Behold the Box of Meat
Do you want to fund the lawsuit?
The EEC/Zinio Affair
MAPS: A bit of ancient history
Offers You Can't Refuse
Postini Bug and False Positives
The "Report Moron" Button
Sender Complaints about Spam Filtering
Thanks, James Gordon

April 2008

E360: EPIC FAIL CONTINUES
Mourning the Loss of DearAOL.com
On Blog Etiquette and Content Ownership
This One Goes To Eleven
Promoting Transparency
You Gotta Fight!

March 2008

Are you sure it's broken?
e360 v. Comcast: EPIC FAIL
Forced Opt-in
Ken Magill Gets It!
Las Vegas Spam via China
More bites at the apple?

February 2008

Help David Ritz
More on the Obvious

January 2008

Alan Ralsky indicted
David Ritz Story Gets Press
Domain Tasting to End?
Excellent comment(s) on the Ritz affair
Gmail's Taking Care of Me
Good to leave your Wifi open?
My Prediction For 2008
North Dakota Judge Gets it Wrong
What the heck is Notchup?

Spam Resource Articles from 2007

2007: Blocklists, opt in debates, spam litigation, and high profile cases like e360 and Spamhaus. The articles document escalating legal battles and growing maturity in filtering and reputation systems.

December 2007

Best Practices & ISP Rules
Yahoo using Spamhaus lists

November 2007

Here is why people get blocked

October 2007

Address portability? Already got it!
David Ritz lawsuit
McAfee vs Barracuda
Psst...wanna buy a list?
Purchased Lists Are Still Lame

September 2007

Getting it Half Right
Monkeys!
More on the Spamhaus Ruling
Oh, please.
Opt-in Censorship?
The Real Spam Has Stood Up
Spam, the Documentary
Zombie Pfizer Computers Spew Viagra Spam

August 2007

7th Circuit Court Opinion on e360 v Spamhaus
Blowback sucks
Division of Permission
MAPS Blacklisted? It's True!
On the APEWS Blacklist
SPEWS Memorial Day?
The Virtumundo/Jim Gordon Affair

July 2007

Ask Al: My email address is being used in spam!
Blocklist notifications? Think again.
Blah on Challenge/Response
Blink: 32 new spams.
Blogger listed on Spamhaus blacklist
TQMCUBE Blocking List Status
Where was the consumer?

June 2007

Even More on Confirmed Opt-in Best Practices
Greetings from San Jose
Harvesting BAD! Grr!
Know when to quit!
Opt-in vs. Relevancy
Spamming That New Account
Vonage did WHAT?

May 2007

ESPs, their clients, and ISP blocking
Mark Mumma News Roundup
Re-thinking Spamcop
Robert Soloway Arrested

April 2007

Email Diva: Industry Standard For List-Cleaning
Get your Sender ID on!
Sweepstakes and List Building
There's always more spam!
Tracking lots of spam for fun and profit
The very first spam?

March 2007

Double opt-in: For and Against
e360 vs Spamhaus: Sparring in the Newsgroups
e360 vs Spamhaus Update
Flixster Wants Your Passwords
Gmail, End User Privacy, and Harassment
Surveys, Profile Information, and Hamtraps
Well-Known E-mailers Back Spamhaus in Amicus Brief

February 2007

The AOL email tax: Is the sky falling?
Backscatter: What is it? How do I stop it?
Blast from the past: Scott Richter on the Daily Show
CAN-SPAM Roundup
The Changing Definition of Spam
Dealing with spam to your abuse desk?
Joe Jared Wins
Microsoft using Spamcop and Spamhaus? Yes!
What are spamtraps?
What it does it mean “We do not relay?”

January 2007

Ask Al: Help, you're blocking my mail!
China's Anti-Spam Law
Full Text of CAN-SPAM
How to deliver mail to AOL
I Still Get More Spam Than You
Quick Update: Scott Richter Makes the News
Senders: How to avoid false positives
SPEWS Current Status
The Story of "Nadine"
Whatever happened to VRFY?

Spam Resource Articles from 2006

2006: The blog returns with practical guidance on double opt in, SPF, domain forgery, challenge response systems, and CAN SPAM enforcement. Goals include addressing common sender mistakes and real world abuse scenarios.

December 2006

Blast from the past: John Gilmore's open relay
Opinions on Challenge/Response?

November 2006

Ask Al: Help, I'm being blocked as a spammer!
Ask Al: How do I track abusive spam?
Blast from the past: RFC Ignorant
How to deal with Challenge/Response?

October 2006

Ask Al: Help, my domain is being forged!
Co-Registration Woes
Google Code Search
Groklaw on the Spamhaus case
If it's good enough for the cops...?
Sending an attachment with your email campaign?
Spamhaus in the News
Who has your personal information?
Who's been sued under CAN-SPAM?

September 2006

Double Opt-in How To
Europe hasn't caught up yet
A question about your practices.
Sender Policy Framework (SPF) trick of the day

August 2006

I'm back!

February 2006

Double Opt-in How-To

Spam Resource Articles from 2004

2004: CAN SPAM arrives! Speculation about whether technology leaders might solve spam. (Spoiler: No.)

February 2004

Bill Gates, spamkiller?

January 2004

CAN-SPAM is here

Spam Resource Articles from 2003

2003: Confirmed opt in practices and problems with SpamCop. Growing pains in spam reporting and enforcement systems.

May 2003

Double Opt-in/Confirmed Opt-in

March 2003

Problems with Spamcop

January 2003

MonsterHut in the News

Spam Resource Articles from 2002

2002: List hygiene and the risks of buying or selling email addresses. I take a hard line against dirty lists and spell out the downstream consequences for senders.

January 2002

Buying dirty lists doesn't pay
Selling your e-mail address for fun and profit

Spam Resource Articles from 2001

2001: MAPS and the RBL, audit trails, and relay blocking lists, laying out how blocklists worked and why they mattered. The year reflects hands on engagement with the earliest anti spam infrastructure and debates around its role.

November 2001

Audit Trails and Relay Blocking Lists

October 2001

MAPS
Nick Renton

August 2001

Ramblings about MAPS and the RBL