JC Dill asked:
< Does anyone know if AOL allows whitelisting AND
blacklisting, and if the whitelist takes precedence? >
We deliver broadcast newsletters to > 100,000 AOL addresses every
week. This is my (unofficial) understanding:
AOL uses a two-tier SMTP system. The first tier accepts all
incoming email. All of it. (Generating no immediate bounce-back
notices for failed or rejected mail.) These first-tier servers
then pass the incoming messages to the next layer of servers for
processing against a global AOL whitelist, a global AOL
blacklist, a global AOL "known bulk emailer" list, and the
universe of AOL recipients.
Of course, bad addresses get bounced. Also, full inboxes get
bounced. Each recipient's mail controls also apply: Each
recipient can optionally define a whitelist, a blacklist, and a
"known sender" list. (The known senders get identified with
different icons than the suspiciously unknown senders.)
In the case of bulk email, if the sender is on AOL's list of bulk
senders that operate according to AOL mail sending rules, then
these approved bulk email senders get a friendly icon that looks
like a brown parcel. Getting on the list of approved bulk email
senders requires becoming an AOL content partner.
If you want to test an AOL address, you can do so with your own
personal AOL account. This is what I do:
1) Take a list of 100 or so AOL email addresses and paste them
into your AOL message CC window, surrounded by parentheses (the
parenthesis in AOL indicates a BCC recipient). In the TO window,
address your message to "0" (the numeral zero). The numeral zero
will never be a valid AOL userid. Then, send your message.
The way AOL currently works, if even one of your recipients is
false you will get a dialog box back that contains the userids of
all the members you sent to which don't exist. Eliminate those
from your list and you've just purged all the bad addresses.
If you do this to a large number of users or too frequently
you'll risk getting your AOL account shut down because the system
will assume you are a spammer. So proceed at your own risk.
Regards,
Rich.
--
Richard Tatum
Website manager for Christianity Today International
email: rich@christianitytoday.com
web: christianitytoday.com
aol im: richtatum
<The flood of careless, unconsidered, cheap words, is the
greatest enemy of the profound word> -Stephen L. Talbott
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