I have spoken with a number of clients that are confused about the fact that they're blacklisted or have problems delivering mail to major service providers and they don't believe that they are spamming. I am talking about legitimate clients using their server for legitimate outbound mail service, mind you, not bulk mailers who tread the fine line between spamming and legit bulk mailing on a daily basis.
The problem is that spamming just doesn't mean blatant bulk mailing to recipients that did not opt in - in the eyes of major email providers spam means anything that is unsolicited or BELIEVED to be unsolicited. For example, if I send out 100 messages to friends of mine advertising 'free print cartridges' or something equally resembling spam then there is a fair chance that some of them will report it to their email provider. If I get enough reports against me then the email provider could block my mail, even if it doesn't fit the technical definition of spam. In short, the perception of spam is just as good (or bad) as actual spam - either will get your mail blocked.
So, now some basics. If you (or your server) resides within the United States then you are bound by the federal CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. You can see it in full here:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/ecommerce/bus61.shtm
...but here are the highlights:
- You cannot have false or misleading header information (i.e. fake where the message is coming from) or have misleading subject lines.
- You must have an opt-out method included in the message, and it must work for 30 days after you send the message. Once the opt-out is activated you must remove the recipient from your mailing list within 10 days. Also, you cannot transfer the email address to another entity to send on your behalf after that point, nor can you simply 'sell' the email address.
- You must include a 'snail mail' address where someone can send a letter that will result in them being opted out of the mailing list.
So, you have to obey those rules in you are based (or sending from) the US. Also, it's good practice not to 'fake' anything in the message - i.e. if you're sending bulk mail you can't put "John Smith" as the sender (i.e. in the signature) if your name isn't John Smith.
Note that federal law isn't the only 'justice' to be found on the internet - anti-spam agencies as well as major internet providers also have blacklists that you can get on by sending mail that is seen to be spam. AOL, for example holds senders to the 1% rule: If over 1% of all mail received from your mailserver is classified as Spam, then they can blacklist you. Also, if you are sending bulk mail to AOL and attempt to deliver to 20 invalid addresses, AOL terminates your connection and will not accept any further connections for some time since AOL considers anyone attempting to send to a list that contains that many invalid addesses cannot be legitimate.
Another tell-tale sign of a spammer is sending email to a 'honey pot' address, i.e. an email address setup by an anti-spam agency for the express purpose of catching spammers that harvestemail addresses from the internet.
While I don't condone spamming in any way, I do understand that bulk messaging is a thriving business and it will exist for as long as the internet exists. If you're going to send bulk mail, do it responsibly ...
