How does SDMB staff deal with challenge-response spam blocking?

[elmwood]

I’m normally a laid-back, patient and fair board administrator (not of the Dope, of course, but of the Cyburbia Forums, an urban planning-related message board). That is, until one of these lands in my mailbox.

To: (Cyburbia Forums address)
From: automated-response@earthlink.net
Subject: Re: (any message automatically generated by vBulletin)

This is an automatic reply to your email message to (user)@earthlink.net

This email address is protected by EarthLink spamBlocker. Your email message has been redirected to a “suspect email” folder for (whoops)@earthlink.net. In order for your message to be moved to this recipient’s Inbox, he or she must add your email address to a list of allowed senders.

Click the link below to request that (user)@earthlink.net add you to this list.

https://webmail.pas.earthlink.net/whatever

When e-mail that is automatically generated by vBulletin – membership activation links, welcome messages, thread subscription notifications (if the user turned them on), and so on get rejected or challenged by spamblockers, whether it’s Earthlink or somewhere else, I turn into a screaming drill sergent looking for blood.

There are several clearly marked warnings on my registration form page, letting users know that they have to add my domain to a safe list BEFORE they register. There is even a checkbox that needs to be checked before the register form can be submitted, for the user to acknowledge that the activation e-mail may end up in a “suspected spam” box, and that those using challenge-response spamblocking need to add the domain to a safe list. (I changed the default vBulletin membership activation and welcome message to get past Bayesian and point-based spam filters, but content doesn’t matter with challenge-response systems.)

Anyhow, with about 150,000 posts, 1,300 active members and ten new members every day, the amount of challenged e-mail that is bouncing back to me, the administrator of my message board, is increasing beyond nuisance levels. I can’t imagine how it must be for the SDMB, with almost 50,000 members.

So, how does SDMB staff deal with e-mail that start off with “Your e-mail has been blocked by …”

[Q.E.D]

@elmwood

So, how does SDMB staff deal with e-mail that start off with “Your e-mail has been blocked by …”

I’m not a SDMB staff member, but if it were my board, I’d post a big announcement that any members whose email accounts block board mailings would be banned and deleted, then give them a suitable time period to comply. Also, I don’t know about vB specifically, but there are add-ons for other message board software that allow you to confirm a valid email address at the time of registration. Nor would it be terribly difficult to work up a script to automatically deny registration to any members whose email bounces a validation message. There’s lots of options.

[elmwood]

@Q.E.D.

I’m not a SDMB staff member, but if it were my board, I’d post a big announcement that any members whose email accounts block board mailings would be banned and deleted, then give them a suitable time period to comply…

I already have – on the registration page and on the board – but that hasn’t helped much.

Here’s the announcement from my board:

(Alternate title: Where Dan goes Lowtax on Earthlink users)

Warning to Earthlink users and others using challenge-response spamblocking: If I get one of these in my mail box as a result of your inaction, your account will be banned until you add cyburbia.org to your safe list, and notify an administrator.

(typical Earthlink “your mail was blocked you are teh suxxorz” message)

There are several clearly marked warnings on the registration form page, letting Earthlink users and others with challenge-response spamblocking know that they have to add the cyburbia.org domain to their safe list BEFORE they register. There is even a checkbox that needs to be checked, indicating that the activation e-mail may end up in a “suspected spam” box, and that those using challenge-response spamblocking need to add cyburbia.org domain to your safe list.

If you attempt to register from an e-mail address using challenge-response spam filtering, without adding cyburbia.org to your safe list beforehand, and account activation e-mail is challenged or blocked, your account will be deleted. We will NOT “click on the link below” to ask for the activation link e-mail to go through.

If you’re a registered user, and a message bounces back to me from a subscribed thread, private message notification, birthday greeting, or something else that vBulletin automatically generates, you will be banned until you add cyburbia.org to your safe list, and notify an administrator.

[gotpasswords]

There are several clearly marked warnings on my registration form page, letting users know that they have to add my domain to a safe list BEFORE they register

Other than adding some parsing on the form input to sense if a user has entered an earthlink (or any other ISP that habitually bounces your emails) address that then triggers a big “MAKE SURE YOU WHITE-LIST CYBURBIA” message, you’ve made the issue clear. If people can’t follow this simple rule, oh well and sayonara to them.

I just had a look at your site, and while the warnings about white-lisitng could be larger, they are certainly there and seem straight-forward enough.

[Q.E.D]

Have you actually followed through on banning noncompliant members? If so, then I sure don’t know what else you can do. It’s not like you can reach through the internet and open up their skulls to install “Smartz 2.0 - Common Sense for teh suxx0rz”.

[TubaDiva]

Haven’t had to deal with this, amazingly enough. Most people have a valid address, we send 'em stuff, it goes through, no problem. Probably only a matter of time before we do, though.

your humble TubaDiva
Administrator