Until a year ago, this was a real problem for me too. AOL actually gave me the "ok" a while ago (read that - 15 years ago) to send to large groups (ie: groups larger than ten!), but only from one screen name. Since I send to group lists from 4 different screen names, my account kept getting blocked. Group 1: Computer Club members. Group 2: Neighborhood association members. Group 3: Investment Club members. Group 4: Business associates who have asked to receive e-mails.
I only e-mail to lists using "blind carbon copy." I never e-mail pix to these groups, and I never include attachments with my e-mails. 1st fix: About 5 years ago, I obtained a dial-up Earthlink account from which I sent group e-mails. This was the only thing I used this account for -- to send group e-mails. Earthlink did not "count" outgoing mail, so they did not block me from sending e-mails and, for whatever reason, no provider ever stopped my e-mails from being received so far as I know. Some went into recipients' "spam" folders, I'm sure. But I think that's due to the recipient's set-up more than the sender's. This was an expensive solution to the problem. About $35 per month. But it worked. By this time, I also had a Comcast account, but Comcast counts outgoing mail. As does AOL. And each blocks e-mail accounts based on ever-changing, amorphous standards which they use continuously, and change continuously, to decide you may be a spammer. Ergo, the Earthlink account. This was paid for by one of my groups, so the cost was not a factor for me directly. & it worked. 2nd Fix: About a year ago I learned that my website provider also includes an e-mail "hosting service" with my account. At least I think that's the correct terminology. Free for the price of the website hosting. It works this way: I set up my lists. I send one e-mail from my AOL account to my lists. (Could be from anywhere though.) The lists get the e-mail, each message is sent addressed to an individual recipient only. (It doesn't say bcc. Each message just shows the recipient's e-mail address and the list's e-mail address.) This is sent from my web host, not from AOL. The hosting service doesn't care how long the lists are. Lots of choices for set-up, including bounce notices forwarded to my AOL account so I know when messages are not being delivered and - sometimes - I can even figure out the reason for non-delivery. I work hard to keep my lists at about 200 names each, but they can be as large as I like. I like small, though. When this was first set up, there was a problem with delivery to Comcast accounts. It took a bit to get straightened out, but the hosting service and Comcast worked out the kinks, my messages were "white listed," and everything worked flawlessly for a year. This allowed me to drop the Earthlink account. -- Savings of $35 per month for group. Everyone's happy. Until this past Thursday. When I got really unhappy. I sent out an e-mail and had over 70 bounces. All bounces were from Comcast e-mail addresses. It seems that a new customer with my website provider sent out spam early last week. The provider picked this up and cancelled the account. Comcast also picked it up and blocked all e-mail sent from my provider. Two days later, out went my e-mail. All blocked. About 1/3 of my recipients. It took a long, long time to send those e-mails from AOL, just a few at a time, spaced moments apart (like 5 - 20 moments apart) so none were blocked. Lots of screaming and shouting on my part later and things have been resolved for the moment. Lessons learned: I am using a shared IP address. Everyone on the website provider's server uses the same IP address (unless they pay mucho extra for a virtual private IP address). They don't monitor accounts, which is good -- except, of course, when there's a problem with a client. They don't notify recipient services when they encounter a problem with a client because they can't tell who the recipient services might be (ie: Comcast in this case). Comcast doesn't contact the send IP when they think someone is sending spam. Comcast simply shuts the IP's incoming e-mail down. All of it. Indiscriminately. Sadly, I got caught in this mess. Took a long, long time to get straightened out. My website provider really went to bat for me. They were very responsive, albeit by e-mail only. They contacted Comcast and got the whole thing straightened out -- I think. No more messages being sent for a week or so, so I can't be sure. But I think it's all better now. (Fingers crossed!) So: There are no sure things in life. Stuff happens at the worst possible moment. If it can be aggravating, it will be aggravating. & there's no defense against having e-mail blocked. There are schemes for avoiding it. There are pro grams out there that will randomly send to a few people at a time, over time, so as to avoid messages being blocked. Set-up for this stuff is ridiculous. (Set-up for my current lists was ridiculous. But once it's done, it's done. And editing, adding, or deleting is not too big a deal.) Hopefully I won't have any more problems for at least another year. Mical Wilmoth Carton [EMAIL PROTECTED] > <<Michael Lewis replied: > "I have a problem where my provider is flagged as a spammer. Why? Because a > lot of the people that use my provider simply forward their email from there > automatically to their AOL accounts. AOL sees a bunch of spam coming in and > assumes it is coming from my provider rather than actually being forwarded > from an email account to one of their customers and flags the provider as a > spammer. > Then, I can't send email to my clients that have AOL accounts. AOL puts them on a blacklist, and then I can't send mail to Comcast and a couple others that use the black list. My provider has argued with AOL tons of times but AOL refuses to change their scripts that check incoming email." In my capacity as e-mail coordinator for a chapter of a writers group, I send announcements of job opening to about 300 members who wish to receive e-mail from the chapter. I use the blind carbon-copy feature and include the advertiser as a recipient. Then, I e-mail an invoice to the advertiser. Sometimes, the advertiser e-mails back, "Okay, I got the invoice. When are you going to send the ad?" Apparently, some ISPs block AOL mail sent with to blind carbon-copy addresses and don't bounce to the sender. Thus I don't know how many recipients are not receiving the posts. I'm surprised that AOL refuses to change scripts that check incoming e-mail. The AOL postmaster's phone number is 888-212-5537. That's one number that they answer on the first ring. Michael Michael S. Altus, PhD, ELS Intensive Care Communications, Inc.=AE Biomedical Writing and Editing Baltimore MD; [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com. ************************************************************************ * ==> QUICK LIST-COMMAND REFERENCE - Put the following commands in <== * ==> the body of an email & send 'em to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <== * Join the list: SUBSCRIBE COMPUTERGUYS-L Your Name * Too much mail? Try Daily Digests command: SET COMPUTERGUYS-L DIGEST * Tired of the List? 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