[Emacspeak] List Administration Update

[Tim Cross <theophilusx@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dear All,

we have received a couple of reports regarding messages from the
emacspeak list being blocked by some mail servers. This message is to
let you know we are aware of the issues and are working to resolve them.
Only a small number of subscribers appear to be impacted by this issue.
We may need to make some configuration changes and possibly send out a
small number of test messages over the next week or so. 

At this stage, no action is required by you and you can continue to use
the list as normal. If the situation changes, we will let you know.
Likewise, should you encounter any problems with the list and have not
yet reported them, please let us know. 

Below is some background for those who may be interested -

There appears to be at least 3 main reasons for messages being blocks -

1. Outdated or overly aggressive IP reputation 'black hole' lists. There
are a number of such lists used by different mail providers. Some of
these lists are overly aggressive, blocking whole class B or C
addresses. When we become aware of such blocks, we ask the maintainers
of the black hole list to remove our IP address. So far, most have
complied after a few days.

2. Some of the black hole list providers provide levels of blocking. We
know of at least one site using the 'extreme' level block rather than
the standard level block. The provider recommends against using this
level of blocking, but uses of their IP blacklist are free to choose. In
this situation, there is not a lot we can do. We can ask the mail
service provider to allow our IP address through, but whether they will
comply is out of our control. There is only 1 site we are aware of in
this category (a University in Australia).

3. Incorrect SPF, DKIM signatures. Modern mail servers use SPF and DKIM
headers as a spam mitigation strategy. Unfortunately, getting SPF and
DKIM headers correct when working with a mail list is somewhat
complicated due to the way Mailman processes headers when it relays
messages you send to the list. This is currently the main cause of
blocked and rejected messages from the list. It is also our current
focus for improving reliability of the list. Once we have a working
strategy for handling SPF and DKIM headers, we will also be able to add
DMARC support, which should further improve the reliability of message
delivery to mail service providers. 

If your mail service provider supports any form of 'white listing' or
'approved senders' for messages, I would highly recommend adding
emacspeak(a)emacspeak.org and emacspeak-bounces(a)emacspeak.org. Adding
these addresses to your address book can sometimes help as well.

regards,

Tim


-- 
Tim Cross