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Subject: Re: rbl listing notifications
From: Jim Seymour (jseymourLinxNet.com)
Date: Sat Aug 26 2000 - 08:35:51 CDT

mikemilliways.cx (Mike Mattice) wrote:
>
[snip]
>
> PHB gets involved. PHB wants ...
[snip]

Have you attempted PHB education yet?

The truth of the matter is that *most* of the sites that end up on the
RBL know well before-hand that it is going to happen. Unless their
mail admins are clueless beyond comprehension. In which case: you
giving them an additional probation period will likely do absolutely no
good whatsoever. Other than giving them an opportunity to spam you, or
relay spam to you, for the additional probation period.

As far as DUL: nobody has any business sending direct to MX from a
dail-up account. They should be using their ISP's designated mail
server.

RSS, and ORBS in particular, are admittedly a bit trickier. They are
both "quicker acting." I simply whitelist individuals, or sometimes
domains, that are on these lists but are valid. I attempt to warn mail
admins and senders about how their problems will escalate, potentially
to the RBL, unless they resolve the problem.

I will not whitelist domains or servers that are on RBL or DUL.

I have complete management support for these policies. And mostly
complete end-user support. Frequently *enthusiastic" end-user support
:-).

>
> Does anybody have any suggestions other than unhooking our internet
> connection?

Well, that *would* result in a pretty effective blacklist :-).

If PHB education doesn't work, just wait until the first time said PHB
receives some particularly objectionable spam :-). You'd be amazed at
the reaction, some times. For some PHBs, it's pr0n spam that does it.
For others: chain letters suggesting that they and everybody they love
will die horrible deaths unless they propagate the letter. Email
solicitation by head-hunters is almost guaranteed to provoke *some*
PHB's ire somewhere in the management chain.

It's funny. I get far more emphatic queries along the lines of "how
did this get through?" than I do "why was this bounced?" I attribute
this to management and end-user education. And the fact that I watch
the mail system like a hawk. I frequently notice and correct reject
problems before a complaint ever hits the HelpDesk. (Then again: my
end-user population and mail volume isn't all that high, relatively
speaking.)

Regards,
Jim 

-- 
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