AOL email blocks - what's the deal?

[Fost]

Despite being told we are whitelisted on numerous occasions, and also ringing up aol and getting them to check messages we send through, it seems none of our emails ever get throught to AOL customers.

Anyone got any tips in this regard?

Although with this (http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/02/03/033202) debacle looming round the corner, maybe it won't matter.

[soniCron]

Although with this (http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/02/03/033202) debacle looming round the corner, maybe it won't matter. Whoa. That's...backwards.

[lakibuk]

...and of course not sending any spam
I wonder about this. Every site with a domain name is abused as spam adress.

[Sillysoft]

I've also been having problems with customers with @aol.com addresses recently. Seems like many emails sent from my mail server are not getting through. Sometime I must use a gmail account I have to send them their info. I have taken to asking them to complain to aol about blocking legitimate sillysoft emails whenever I do this. I'm hoping that their users complaining will help.

[Fost]

I have taken to asking them to complain to aol about blocking legitimate sillysoft emails whenever I do this.
I've taken to recommending they switch ISP, because if enough people vote with their wallets then AOL may have to pull their finger out. Funny thing is, almost everyone I've said that to has wrote back and agreed with me. :)

There are places buried deep in the AOL site that explain how to get whitelisted and where you can ring up to send test emails, but like I said - It always seems to stop working again after a while.

[Olivier]

There are places buried deep in the AOL site that explain how to get whitelisted and where you can ring up to send test emails, but like I said - It always seems to stop working again after a while.
From AOL Whitelist Information:
An organization's mail servers must send a minimum of 100 emails per month to maintain whitelist status.

Source:
http://www.google.fr/search?hl=fr&q=whitelist+site%3Aaol.com&btnG=Recherche+Google&meta=
http://postmaster.info.aol.com/whitelist/

[Mark Sheeky]

Although with this (http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/02/03/033202) debacle looming round the corner, maybe it won't matter.

Heh! Once AOL customers find they can't receive emails from anybody they might fail to see the point of this. Once gambling sites pay to send the spam, more AOL customers might fail to see the point of this. Having to pay AOL to send their customers an email is an amazingly bad idea.

Mark

[Fost]

An organization's mail servers must send a minimum of 100 emails per month to maintain whitelist status.[/URL]
Ahh! Thanks Oliver. I missed that, but it explains why we've been havnig problems.

So, the in the short term, we only have these options:


Apply for whitelist status every month
Get an AOL account and send it 100 emails a month
Advertise like mad on AOL so we get 100 customers from the every month ;)


Long term, I'll have to wait and see what they are up to - I know this much, I'm not going to pay to send them emails.

[Mark Sheeky]

So, the in the short term, we only have these options:


Apply for whitelist status every month
Get an AOL account and send it 100 emails a month
Advertise like mad on AOL so we get 100 customers from the every month ;)




Have a monthy newsletter (and a mailing list with 100 AOL subscribers!)
Email AOL customer support every month 100 times asking "Why is your whitelist temporary!?".


Mark

[arcadetown]

I read paying gives direct non-filtered access to a users mail box. Free emailing still supposed to work going through current filters. Of course that could change.

We had problems with AOL users when our email list went out due to sending more than X emails in Y period of time. Applied for feedback loop and fixed it. Perhaps this is their whitelisting? Guess if you're very low volume you're probably unaffected anyhow since you won't trigger that X emails in Y time threshold?

Sucks. Yahoo says they're interested also. Plus some ISPs are considering charging to give users access to high bandwidth usage downloadables :(