[epub] Re: Spam filters - Especially America Online

[Bruce Calder <caldernet@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hello All,

 

I have come to believe that America Online goes one step further than the spam filter problem being discussed here today. Can anybody else confirm or dispute my belief?

 

I believe that America Online's system automatically detects what appears to be spam and deletes it without notifying either their member or the sender. What I think is happening is something like this :

 

- If about 10% of your subscribers have a "@.aol.com" email address, once your mailing list hits about 2000 subscribers, 200 of them will be AOL customers.

 

- As your list grows, a day will come when AOL's system will decide that the number of messages it has received in a short period of time with the same subject, sender and/or content shows that your publication is spam and will not deliver the rest of the messages it receives, without notifying either you or the intended recipient.

 

- As more and more AOL members subscribe, a smaller and smaller percentage of those subscribers end up receiving your mailing. (It is possible that the address in the FROM line of your message will be flagged, preventing the delivery of future mailings to AOL customers without notice.)

 

- As older AOL subscribers unsubscribe or are removed, other AOL subscribers, whose mailings have been blocked move towards the front of your list and start getting through. Because they haven't received anything from you in some time, they don't remember that they subscribed, and then report you as a spammer.

 

- If AOL flags your FROM address, if one day you change this address, and/or the format of your publication, hundreds of AOL subscribers who had your publication blocked may now start receiving it...if only just once, and the spam claims will fly.

 

Because of this, and the fact that AOL members seem unusually quick to claim "spam" I currently disallow .AOL.COM addresses on my mailing list and on my ad swapping service, GetSwap.com.

 

Thanks.

Bruce C.

http://www.calder.net/

http://www.getswap.com/

Client Services <clientservices@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hi Dianne,

I publish my ezine on the web and send an email to my readers
telling them that the newest issue is available. I realised
that personal emails sent to readers get through the filters
easier than the ezine itself. Here's an example email you can
send out:

======================================================
Hi [firstname],

I've got some cool tips on ****** to share with you.
They will get you all excited. We can't talk here,
though... because of those irritating spam filters.

Some of the stuff I have to tell you is time sensitive,
so you'll want to follow me over to the **** online now...

http://www.yoururl.com

See you in a second...

You can also send a special alert email to request your
readers to save your email address in their address book.
Again, here's a sample email:

======================================================

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Post your free ad now! Yahoo! Canada Personals

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