Tools: Getting off a blacklist? (Take II)

[Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca>]

Thanks to all who responded. A few specific comments. Bill Blinn 
observed <<MAPS is usually quick about removing an ISP from the list... 
once the ISP has taken care of the problem.>> As noted below, they seem 
unwilling. But I can now call and provide some of the facts listed 
below to make a stronger case.

Mike O. noted: <<You can send email from an external hosting provider 
instead.>> Already doing that--see my sig! <g> But this adds complexity 
and doesn't avoid the problem of draconian blacklisting with no easy 
way to solve the problem.

<<Or you can even set up an smtp server locally>> I'm contemplating 
that for sending out a newsletter I hope to launch later this year. But 
a good spam filter will note when the "from" header doesn't match that 
of the SMTP server.

<<it's not a bad idea to have your own domain name hosted separately 
from your ISP>> That's also in progress, but I've been running like a 
madman just to get my new freelance career started, leaving little time 
to set up a credible web site. Won't stop me from registering a domain, 
though--hopefully this weekend.

<<Don't sweat the blacklisters, just move on.>> I hate running from a 
fight, particularly when I'm at least partially in the right here.

Gary Callison also commented: <<[Videotron] really do need to clean up 
their act.>> Thanks for the confirmation and for providing evidence I 
can pass along.

<<[Mail-abuse is] a small organization, but if you'd read their 
webpage, you'd have seen the phone number.>> Sure, and a WhoIs query 
also turned up their number, but I can't afford the time on the phone 
and the long-distance bill hoping for a more polite response than I get 
from their e-mail autoresponders.

<<DNSBLs are a powerful tool to stop spam>> They do encourage the ISP 
to clean up their act, which is a good thing, but don't stop other 
major sources of spam: people with always-on connections but no 
firewall or antivirus, and spammers running their own SMTP servers. 
Relative proportions of each? No idea. I do know ISPs are only part of 
the problem.

<<The fact that your volume of spam is only increasing means only that 
videotron is doing little to stop spam from coming into their 
network.>> Thank God. I've had such horrendous experiences with having 
someone else filter my mail that I'd switch ISPs if they started 
filtering my mail. I wasn't complaining about spam loads; Apple's Mail 
client handles spam brilliantly. I was just pointing out that the 
blacklists aren't working nearly  as well as their proponents claim.

<<I note that MAPS isn't Videotron's only problem: that out-MX is also 
listed in at least 25 other public DNSBLs>> Thanks. I'll pass this 
along too. I hadn't received failed delivery messages from 
non-Mail-Abusae ISPs, but those others may not send rejection messages.

Gary also passed along a useful URL: 
http://www.scconsult.com/bill/dnsblhelp.html

--Geoff Hart   ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca
(try geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com if you don't get a reply)