Q: Why does some mail get blocked by "black-lists"?

Ans:There are a number of people out there who like to send "SPAM". A "blacklist" just means that every mail server that is listed on on the list is not permitted to send mail to mail servers that use that blacklist. The ones we used are used by a substantial percentage of the internet audience so that if you get a message out being on a blacklist, you can probably be sure others mail servers are not talking to your  mail server. Now everyone should know that Santa Claus doesn`t need that type of SPAM email and neither do his elves, but these people  continue to do so. In fact, we get approximately 800 to 1000 pieces of SPAM per day (as of Fall 2001). Using these black-lists lowers that down to a much more managable number, 15-20. These lists work by targetting computers that are configured incorrectly - they allow something called "mail relaying." If you got a notice that you couldn`t send mail, what it means is that your Internet Service Provider , has a computer that is not configured correctly and allows mail relaying. They need to fix their problem and then contact the "black-list" group  to have themselves removed. It is a VERY simple fix for them, so please contact the ISP to have them address the issue. They may not even realize they are running an open relay and, if that is the case, they will be happy to learn of it. If they do not know how to fix the problem, people at the sites below will be happy to help them do so.

If they will NOT fix the problem you have two choices:

(1) stay with an ISP who contributes to the problem of junk email, knowing that lots of site block email because of that, or

(2) use a different ISP. The beauty of a blacklist is that it works automatically so there is no human bias - either a test message can be relayed through a computer or not. What this also means is that once a problem is corrected, it is easy to get off the list. The reverse is that improperly configured machines are added quickly once spammers begin using them. Happy Holidays!