The War Between Spammers
and ISPs/Mail Services
We (the community of responsible online small
businesses) understand that ISPs have to filter e-mail that
we send to our clients. Spam is overwhelming them.
Filtering algorithms and anti-spam software are
complex, will only get more so. And the volume of spam is in
the billions. So mistakes are inevitable.
We recognize that and we stand ready to deal with
the fact that an ISP will occasionally delete a bona fide e-mail
that we send to a client. After all, we are all partners in
the fight against spam.
When you're dealing with billions of spam e-mail,
those "occasional" mistakes amount to the hundreds
of thousands of good e-mails that are wrongly blocked daily.
It's so common, ISPs and mail services have a term for it...
"false positives."
False positives occur due to a near-infinite combination
of reasons, that usually involve some combination of the following...
filtering e-mail is extremely complex and
"false positives" are inevitable, even in the hands
of the most sophisticated and best intentioned
ISPs can set the tightness of the net of the filter, resulting
in a higher "false-positive" rate -- the overzealous
ISP catches more tuna, but also catches more dolphins by mistake
honest marketing companies can become "accidental dolphins"
in a variety of ways ... using words in their e-mails that trigger
filters by mistake (ex., "income"), having affiliates
who do something wrong without their knowledge, having too many
inactive e-mail addresses in their list of customers, sabotage
by unethical competitors, etc., etc., etc.
some filters are run by unfair, vigilante groups who are actually
more anti-business than anti-spam, and too quick to "shoot
first and never ask questions."
Yes, "false positives" are so common that some ISPs
and mail services take it for granted. Worse, they take you
and us, and our good will, for granted.
If you think about it, here's the bottom line...
STEP 1) You want an e-mail from
LotusTarot, whether due to an order, subscription, registration,
or request for support.
STEP 2) LotusTarot sends the
requested e-mail.
STEP 3) Your ISP or mail service
mistakenly filters it out.
STEP 4) You do not get the mail
that you want.
Up to this point, we all accept that this may
happen. After all, your ISP or mail service is trying to protect
you from spam. So...
As long as you can whitelist
yourself and receive the mail you want (as described on our
Whitelisting Page), there's
no real damage done. We all have to put up with some inconvenience
to fight spam, as long as the ISPs are doing their most to keep
your inconvenience down to the "necessary minimum."
A Problem That We Hope
Does Not Happen To You...
The ISP or Mail Service that Does Not "Whitelist"
What worries us?
We worry about your inconvenience. We worry that
you might think that somehow we here at LotusTarot are at fault,
especially if you have trouble whitelisting yourself (for example,
Hotmail is notoriously ineffective at whitelisting, or "safelisting"
as they call it).
If you do not get our
e-mail, please understand...
We are NOT at fault. We are "false positives,"
collateral damage in the war between spammers and filters. And
you, unfortunately, are stuck here in the cross-fire with us.
And like we said, we can live and deal with that.
But it may get worse...
If you have trouble whitelisting, contact your
ISP or mail service's help by e-mail, Web form, or best of all
directly by phone. But beware, ISPs or mail services who do
not or cannot whitelist are at a big competitive disadvantage.
Why?
Because there are
others who will gladly accept your business.
So... the support staff at an ISP or mail service
who does not whitelist (and they may not even admit this to
you) may try to convince you that somehow we are to blame (our
customers have told us so). It is simply far easier for them
to use the credibility of their sheer size to blame us or to
say "it's at the other end," than it is to admit they
are failing to deliver what their clients expect... the mail.
If they refuse to accept responsibility, or if
they try to confuse you with one of a whole bunch of copy-and-paste
excuses, blame, or misdirections, clear the air of all the smoke
and mirrors -- remind them of the fundamental, common-sense,
sequence of events...
STEP 1) You want an e-mail from
LotusTarot, whether due to an order, subscription, registration,
or request for support.
STEP 2) LotusTarot sent the requested
e-mail.
STEP 3) Your ISP or mail service
filtered it out.
STEP 4) You did not get the mail
that you wanted.
STEP 5) And now, they STILL won't
give it to you, even though you are insisting that you want
it, even though you are asking them to whitelist our domains
(as explained on our Whitelisting Page).
Then ask them what they don't understand about
where the chain of events is breaking. We have done our part
(Step 2).
Even If You're A "Newbie,"
It's Clear Where The Break In The Chain Is
Review the 5 Steps outlined above. It's so basic...
At the end of the day, it's their
"break in the chain" if you are not receiving the
mail. So the sincerest way to show your displeasure...
If you use Hotmail and they're giving you excuses,
switch to Yahoo! Mail. If your ISP won't whitelist, switch to
a responsible one that will.
Ultimately, war or no war against spam, it is
the perceived DUTY of the ISP or mail service
to deliver the mail. That is the level at which the above sequence
is breaking down.
Even if they hide behind technical jargon of "smtp
servers" or legalistic small print of "being private
networks that don't have to deliver the mail," your answer
is simple...
"Gee, that's a shame it wasn't clear
in your marketing materials. I wouldn't have to waste my time
switching to a better service that DOES enable me to get the
mail that I want."
And it is as simple as that. So...
Ask them, one final time, to whitelist you. We
are sending the e-mail to the address you indicated. So it's
up to your ISP or mail service to deliver the mail.
They may claim not be able to whitelist for one
or more reasons...
1) Your ISP will not do it. They may make up all
kinds of excuses, or even blame us, but the bottom line is that
they are not delivering e-mail that YOU want. Period.
2) You can't get their support group to tell you
how to whitelist. Either they don't answer you, or they dance
around the question, or deflect blame.
3) They don't provide the tools to whitelist,
or the tools don't work, or it's simply technically impossible
for them to do it. For example, the "safe list" at
Hotmail does not work when you want to permit an address through
their filter. Their shortcomings have become your problem. Switch.
4) Your ISP responds to a whitelist request BY
TURNING OFF THE SPAM FILTERS COMPLETELY. That's like asking
someone to put a gate in the high wall around your house and
the reply is... "Sure, we'll just take the ENTIRE wall
down." That is an irresponsible and self-focused response
to a valid request -- it merely turfs the problem back onto
the customer, which is an unacceptable reply. Do not accept
this poor proposition.
There is only one good reason not to whitelist,
and that is to block known spammers. We don't spam. We never
have. (And we would definitely want to know of any ISP or mail
service or filtering provider who claims that we do.)
It's An Obvious Bottom
Line...
You Want & Expect Your Mail
If you cannot whitelist LotusTarot, consider these
two inarguable truisms...
You expect to receive e-mail that you want.
A company that can't deliver that basic expectation deserves
to lose your business.
No matter what the "reason" may be for not whitelisting,
it all boils down to the same thing...
Your ISP is not fulfilling your most basic of
expectations.
So What To Do??
1) Complain by sending an e-mail to "abuse@"
and "postmaster@" followed by the domain of your ISP
or mail service (ex., if you are using an address@hotmail.com,
send your complaint to abuse@hotmail.com and postmaster@hotmail.com).
Mail to both those addresses has an excellent chance of being
seen by at least one person.
Click here for a sample e-mail to send.
For this to work, customize as follows...
a) To field: Enter the domain of the service.
Continuing the "hotmail.com example," where it says,
"abuse@<<ENTER-DOMAIN-OF-YOUR-ISP-OR-MAIL-SERVICE>>,"
enter "hotmail.com" so that the "to address"
now is "abuse@hotmail.com" (without the quotes).
b) Cc field: If possible, please keep the cc field
as it is (to us)... if they try to confuse the issue or say
bad things about us, we'd like to know about it. We have nothing
to hide and are being open about this -- please notice if they
are, too.
c) Subject: Again, replace the <<ENTER-DOMAIN-OF-YOUR-ISP-OR-MAIL-SERVICE>>
with the domain of your ISP or mail service. In the case of
our example, the subject should now say, "Hotmail, please
stop blocking important e-mail that I want" (without quotes).
d) Bcc field: If the "to" address of
"abuse@" does not get through, the "postmaster@"
address will. Do the same thing for the postmaster@<<ENTER-DOMAIN-OF-YOUR-ISP-OR-MAIL-SERVICE>>
address that you will see in the Bcc field. After you replace
the <<ENTER-DOMAIN-OF-YOUR-ISP-OR-MAIL-SERVICE>>
with the domain name, cut-and-paste the address into the "to"
or the "cc" field so that it is not a bcc (we put
it there for technical reasons, but it's more polite if your
ISP can see everyone who is receiving this mail).
e) Body of e-mail: Customize the body of the e-mail.
Add your own story and circumstances. Remind them of the 5 basic
steps (above), if necessary. Note the spots to enter your first
name last name, and e-mail address. Make sure that you use your
e-mail address of the ISP or mail service for extra weight/consideration,
both in the body and in your "from" address.
f) Proof-read it all. Once it's right, you are
ready to lodge a formal complaint.
g) Send it.
You might not get a reply, but regardless, it
is important to register a complaint when a company does not
deliver the service for which you contracted. And we DO look
at, and save, your complaints when you cc to the LotusTarot.com
address in the above link.
What Else Can You Do?
2) Enter a different e-mail address into the LotusTarot
Support contact form, and e-mail your question to us again,
if you are here because you have been having trouble receiving
our support-replies.
One More Thing You Can
Do To Register Displeasure...
3) Register a Complaint with the Filtering
Provider
This is the interesting, unknown part of the "world
of filtering." Filtering providers are companies that provide
filtering services for many ISPs and mail services. They work
behind the scenes, invisibly.
Since they provide the filtering for so many ISPs
and mail services, even Hotmail, there is a good chance that
they are involved if you are having trouble whitelisting the
LotusTarot.com domain. Click
here for more information... and a chance to win a digital camera!
We Are Sincerely Sorry
For This Bother
This is not our fault. If your ISP won't whitelist
us, and instead tries to confuse the issue or say bad things
about us, please ask them to cc us. As mentioned, we have nothing
to hide and would love to remove your inconvenience and discuss
this directly with whoever is not letting you receive e-mail
that you want.
If they refuse to speak with us, if they refuse
to cc us, please send us a cc of their communications with you.
Also consider which party is being open, above board, and trying
to truly help you.
No matter what they may say to make us look bad,
it's really very simple...
We sent the mail. You
want the mail. It is your expectation to receive it,
no matter what they say.
We only ever send you e-mail that you specifically
request, expect or register for. Please tell your mail service
that you understand that false-positives do occur, but it is
unacceptable not to be able to whitelist.
Then change ISPs or mail services. And let them
know why.
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