This type of response is just comical to me, considering the article
clearly states that the blocked e-mail problem applies not only to AOL but also
to many other ISP's, including Yahoo and Verizon. Why are you recommending
switching to Yahoo when the very same article you are using to condemn AOL
mentions Yahoo's identical shortcomings?
Laura
In a message dated 5/3/2006 3:49:59 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Bottom
Line:
NO ONE should use an AOL email address for business purposes.
Not
ever. If they want to keep AOL, they should get a free email
address
from Yahoo or HotMail and use that for their business
correspondence
(and critical things like their MOPO mail).
--
JR
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Kusumoto"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To:
<MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU>
Sent: Wednesday, May 03, 2006
10:49
Subject: [MOPO] WSJ: AOL, Verizon blocking legitimate
mail
> It doesn't get anymore official than this to demonstrate
how e-mails
to
> users of AOL, Verizon or Yahoo are occasionally
going into a black
hole . .
> . In this morning's
WSJ:
>
> -koose.
>
> = = = = = = = = =
=
>
> WALL STREET JOURNAL
> May 3, 2006; Page D1
>
SPAM FILTERS GONE WILD
> Spate of Incidents at Verizon, AOL Point to
Growing Problem
> Of Blocking Legitimate Email
> By JESSICA E.
VASCELLARO
>
> Internet companies are taking more aggressive steps
to stop the flow
of
> unwanted email. In a significant number of
cases, though, consumers
complain
> that the efforts increasingly are
blocking the good along with the
bad.
>
> ** Possibly millions
of AOL members were temporarily unable to
receive some
> mail from
Google Inc.'s Gmail users last week after AOL held up
messages
> from
some new Gmail servers over concerns it might be spam.
>
> ** An
AOL software update recently resulted in a stoppage of mail
that
>
mentioned at least 60 Internet addresses. An update of
Verizon
Communication
> Inc.'s spam filters recently sparked
widespread complaints from
consumers
> who were unable to receive and
send messages.
>
> The companies blamed the problems on software
glitches or
communication
> failures and often fixed them within
hours. Tight precautions are
necessary,
> the companies say, since
spam can threaten online security and
safety -- a
> more serious
problem than the nuisance of a few missed messages.
>
> ** But
others say the incidents are a troubling sign that new
antispam
>
measures may be going too far, contributing to everything from lost
>
real-estate deals and blocked banking transactions to
bruised
relationships
> caused by unreturned emails that never got
through to friends in the
first
> place.
>
> Recently,
Mark Fleischer, a 24-year-old commercial real-estate
broker in
>
Tampa, Fla., was waiting for his client's final approval to go ahead
and
bid
> on a $175,000 condo after emailing him a list of the prices
for
comparable
> properties.
>
> But Yahoo Inc. blocked
his client's response telling him to go ahead
with
> the deal, and
Mr. Fleischer lost the sale. Yahoo says in such cases
it aims
> to
help the sender fix the problem by sending him a rejection
message
with
> informational links.
>
> As much as 20% of legitimate
bulk commercial email -- which includes
mail
> users sign up to
receive as well as online statements and
receipts -- gets
> caught in
spam filters, according to Ferris Research, a San
Francisco-based
>
market researcher.
>
> The best filters, however, make such
mistakes for email between
> acquaintances only about once a month,
according to Ferris.
>
> Most state-of-the art filters now employ
filtering techniques that
typically
> involve examining the language
in the email (does it include
combinations of
> words often found in
spam but not legitimate email?), the mail
server
> sending the email
(it is a computer that appears to be affected by a
virus?)
> and past
messages from the sender (has it sent spam before?).
>
> They also
are asking their customers to help.
>
> ** AOL, a unit of Time
Warner Inc., stores messages its users report
as spam
> in a database
it analyzes for patterns.
>
> Yahoo continually adjusts its
technology based on its members' use
of a
> "This is spam/Not spam"
buttons.
>
> The steps are generating victories in the war on
spam. The number
of spam
> messages the average consumer
receives annually fell 17% to 3,253 in
2005
> from 2003, according to
Jupiter Research, and is expected to plummet
to
> 1,640 by
2010.
>
> ** AOL says its members report that the amount of spam
in their
in-boxes has
> fallen by more than 75% since the fall of
2003.
>
> But some consumers are complaining about the
unintended
consequences.
>
> The latest Verizon hitch left
Lauren Weinstein, a computer
consultant from
> Woodland Hills,
Calif., unable to help a friend fix his computer
over email
> when
the message, along with messages to roughly four more friends
and
>
colleagues whose Verizon accounts he subsequently tested,
got
blocked.
>
> "I started seeing rejection messages coming
back immediately from
Verizon,"
> he says. Mr. Weinstein requested an
investigation online. Verizon
says it
> acted to fix the glitch and
had email flowing normally within 48
hours.
>
> Samantha
McManus, business-strategy manager for the
> technology-care-and-safety
group at Microsoft Corp., says the risk
of
> regular email getting
rejected has risen as spam filtering has
improved
> beyond catching
only obvious junk mail.
>
> "We constantly have to make a decision
about how aggressive we want
to be,"
> she says.
>
> The
dilemma has prompted some companies to push
spam-fighting
techniques
> designed to more accurately distinguished
between wanted and
unwanted email.
>
> Over the past couple of
years, Microsoft has been trying to prevent
spam to
> its Hotmail
users through a program called Sender ID that allows
Microsoft
> to
verify that an email is coming from the domain it claims it
is
from.
>
> Companies become known as "Sender ID compliant" by
publishing a list
of IP
> addresses authorized to send mail under
their domains.
>
> Last month, Microsoft reported that when
looking at emails that pass
a
> Sender ID check versus a sample of
incoming "good" e-mail, there was
up to
> 80% reduction in the level
of mail wrongly classified as spam.
Microsoft
> reports that more
than 3 million domains are sending Sender ID
compliant
> mail
world-wide.
>
> Yahoo -- the leading email site with more than 54
million unique
monthly
> visitors, according to Nielsen/NetRatings --
has been pushing a
similar
> standard called DomainKeys that
generates a digital signature in the
header
> of an email message
that Yahoo checks against published registry
information
> to verify
the sender's identity.
>
> Such authentication techniques are
gaining steam as the industry
grapples
> with other ways to ensure
consumers see the emails they want to see.
>
> ** AOL will soon
partner with authentication service Goodmail
Systems Inc.
> to allow
some companies to pay fractions of a cent per email for
their
>
emails to skip its spam filters altogether.
>
> Yahoo has
announced that it will begin testing the service for
transactional
>
emails, such as electronic banking statements. To sign up for
the
service,
> companies must meet qualification criteria such as
ensuring they
only send
> messages to those who request them or
contacts with whom they have
an
> existing business
relationship.
>
> ** AOL says the program will be a boon to
consumers by helping them
receive
> trusted email.
>
> **
But the program has prompted a host of complaints from
consumer
advocacy
> groups who say it is moving to a system of tiered
email delivery
that favors
> senders who can afford to pay to reach
consumers.
>
> ** And while such programs will help consumers
identify the
legitimate
> emails from the fakes, it is not a
substitute for spam prevention
nor does
> it address complaints that
spam filtering is often a blunt
instrument.
>
> ** AOL user
K.C. Eynatten of Houston crossed wires with a business
> acquaintance
last month when AOL appeared to be blocking her
contact's
> incoming
messages as spam. She detected the glitch after a missed
>
appointment.
>
> ** "I don't want to change my email address but
this is just so
incredibly
> frustrating," says the 54-year-old head
of an arts foundation, whose
> daughter recently stopped sending her
mail from her Gmail account
after it
> was repeatedly blocked as
junk.
>
> There are several measures consumers can take if they
suspect their
emails
> are getting caught in a spam trap. Adding an
address to your online
address
> book will often ensure that emails
from that sender are delivered to
you.
>
> ** AOL lets members
tune their spam filters to one of four different
>
settings.
>
> ** Senders suspecting their emails haven't been
received should try
sending
> (or forwarding) the message
again.
>
> ** They can also request to be added to a "white list"
of approved
senders,
> which may require them to disclose their email
address and server
addresses.
>
>
Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at
www.filmfan.com
>
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