Sadly, there is an epidemic of bounced emails happening on the Web due to the 'spam filters' being installed on more and more ISPs. This is having disastrous effects on many ezines and online businesses, resulting in newsletter issues being rejected, and even correspondence emails from businesses online to awaiting customers. Personal emails are also being rejected, and labelled as 'spam' if they meet the criteria. That means that many recipients of these mailings marked as spam will never know that they had mail.

Are you running an ezine or online business? Think it won't affect you? Think again.

Do you use a line of ALL CAPITAL letters in your email? How about an ! exclamation mark? Or spaces in between words in your email heading/subject? Is your email longer than 500 lines? What about mention of a FULL REFUND, or GUARANTEE, or reference to EMAIL MARKETING, or the words RISK FREE in your email? Maybe you mention the words "Work At Home" or "Home Employment"? Do you have an auto reply email set up with a blank subject line? Do you make reference to "opting-in", "removing from list", "increasing traffic", or mention a "check or money order"? Or God forbid you should include an URL in your email for someone to click on. - BIG no, no. (Shame on you. :-) that's gonna cost you) Chances are ... some of your recipients won't even get your mail. Why?

Spam filtering software programs such as Spam Assassin (probably the biggest offender of undelivered mail) are being used by many ISPs in an effort to save millions of dollars a year wasted on dealing with all the spam.

Spam Assassin is supposed to cut back on the amount of spam that gets delivered, but it also does it's dirty deeds by filtering out many legitimate mails from businesses, friends, maybe your boss, or even your grandmother.

It works on a point system. There are certain "triggers" that are set as a default, and when any of these triggers are found within an email - it totals up the points - and if an email receives a total of "5" or more points - it'll end up being bounced back into cyberspace, never to be read, never to be appreciated, and without the recipient's constitutional freedom of choice whether they wanted that mail or not.

Although there are some ISPs allowing their customers the option of receiving their own mail, even if it totals 5 or more, it presents itself in the recipient's inbox as:

For example:

Subject: {SPAM?} AMAZING NEWS MOM !

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For example, Emily emails her "Mama" about a great new business that she started, and that the most [AMAZING] part is that she can now [work at home] and spend more time with the kids and the dog. Oh, and she also wants to tell Mama that she's already made big [PROFITS] in her first week. .....

She's also responding to Mama's invitation for Thanksgiving dinner, and that she [GUARANTEES] she'll be on time this year. She also includes the [email link] in the body of the message so that Mama can pick up a [RISK FREE] trial membership to a cool recipe club site she found.

Now, let's see if Emily's letter will pass the Spam Assassin's test for delivery, or not.

a line of ALL CAPITAL letters- (spam yelling) - that's 0.453 points

contains "!" in Subject Field - (only spam is that exciting) - that's 0.544 points

AMAZING - (only spammers say that) therefore - that's 1.631 points

mentions 'work at home' - (tell tale sign of spam) - that's 0.365 points

mentions PROFITS - (must be spam, everyone only breaks even) - that's 0.460 points

states a 'GUARANTEE' - (nothing is guaranteed, blatant spam) - that's 1.895 points

includes a link URL - (huh ??) that's 1.520 points

RISK FREE - (Whoa! bad choice of words Emily) - that's 2.151 points

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Let's she if Mama will get Emily's email, if Mama's ISP is using Spam Assassin:

0.453 + 0.544 + 1.631 + 0.365 + 0.460 + 1.895 + 1.520 + 2.151 = TOTAL: 9.019

Emily, you spammer!

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To view the Spam Assassin point system click here:

http://spamassassin.taint.org/tests.html where you'll find more triggers such as:

a blank subject field = 2.428 points

a mention of 'instructions for removal from a list' = 3.772 points (Oh, oh)

mention 'opting-in' = 2.100 points

mention ways to INCREASE TRAFFIC = 2.744 points

refer to sending a 'check or money order' = 3.358 points (Whoa!)

and much more!

Are you willing to allow others determine what email you should read - in order to rid yourself of some spam, at the expense of losing your legitimate mail? (maybe even a customer's request for more information on your product?)

Help stop programs like this from taking away your legitimate email by writing your ISP and inquiring whether they're using these filters on your mail. If so, insist that they remove it from your account, as well as notify you if they install it in the future.

It's your right to choose what is spam, and what isn't.

Denial of access to your own email is "denial of service".

Article by Danielle Wilson, Copyright 2002

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