SPEWS: Getting Delisted
Please note that we are not affiliated IN ANY WAY with SPEWS. We do not use SPEWS. However, we support the initiative.
SPEWS is a DNSBL with unique characteristics. There is nobody whom one can contact regarding SPEWS. Indeed, the identity of the SPEWS administrators is a closely guarded secret. Supposedly, SPEWS administrators monitor the usenet news group news.admin.net-abuse.blocklisting ("NANAB"). This is a moderated news group. Before you post, please review the following:
Read the SPEWS FAQ.
The FAQ is located at http://spews.org/faq.html.
According to the SPEWS FAQ, posts to newsgroups have no effect on SPEWS listings. Only the cessation of spam can cause SPEWS to remove a listing.
SPEWS Is:
A list of providers. These are the ISPs and hosting companies that are spam tolerant, do not respond to abuse complaints, do not enforce their Terms of Service or otherwise foster the transmission of spam.
Therefore, SPEWS lists ranges that are not necessarily responsible for sending spam. As the provider continues to engage in spam friendly behavior, the ranges will widen. Eventually SPEWS may list an entire ISP.
Think of SPEWS as a boycott. It's all about economic logic. When the revenues from spammers are less than the revenues lost to customers who move because of SPEWS listings, it is possible that the ISP will modify their behavior.
SPEWS Is NOT:
A listing of spammers. See "SPEWS Is," above.
SPEWS Does Not White List.
SPEWS does not cut holes in ranges for "innocent" customers. Doing so would be counter-intuitive to the boycott nature of SPEWS.
SPEWS' objectives are quite clear. They want listed, non-spamming customers to put pressure on their providers to rid their space of spammers. If the provider continues to effectively sponsor spam, it is hoped that those customers will change providers as the only means of being delisted. This sends a powerful economic message to the provider.
SPEWS Levels.
SPEWS listings are marked as "L1" or "L2". In short, Level 1 listings are the most abusive providers. Level 2 is often though of as a warning list. It is believed that very few mail administrators use Level 2 data to reject email. However, Level 2 data is often used as part of a scoring system. The L2 data feed includes the L1 listings.
Delisting.
Only the provider can take the steps necessary to get delisted; Essentially getting rid of their spamming customers and taking steps necessary to preventing spam in the future. It is unknown if if posting this information to NANAB really has any effect on the listing; The SPEWS FAQ claims that it does not.
Therefore, if you are not a provider, posting to NANAB is pointless. Your time and energy would be better utilized by putting pressure on your provider or, in the alternative, changing providers. About the only thing that a customer will accomplish by posting to NANAB is an increase in frustration and blood pressure.
Posting to NANAB.
If you are a provider, the following is our opinion of what you should post to NANAB:
Include the record number, usually something like "S1234", in the subject line of the post.
Be specific. Address each range included in the listing. If a spammer has left your space, it is probably a good idea to indicate the cause (terminated or voluntarily) as well as why (if they were terminated) and when. You might also want to indicate what provider the spammer went to, if you know. Keep in mind that you need to be accurate and truthful. There are many ways that SPEWS can verify your statements.
Describe the steps you have taken to reduce abuse and prevent spammers from opening accounts in the future. Try to address any comments that are included in the SPEWS listing.
Don't threaten. Threatening litigation is not only unrealistic but a very good way to encourage SPEWS to maintain the listing. Furthermore, any threats will undoubtedly cause your ranges to be added to a number of other blocklists.
Use your corporate email address. Using a Gmail or Hotmail address will deteriorate your credibility and make it uncertain that you are who you say you are.
Use a REAL news client. If you insist on using Google to post, please make sure that, if you reply to posts, you do so by clicking on "Show Options" and then "Reply". This will provide attribution (whose post you are responding to) as well as quoted text. You should trim quoted text so that you are only including what is relevant to your reply.
NANAB follows the Unix netiquette convention which means that you should not "top post.". In other words, your reply should be below the quoted text that you are replying to.
No matter what, remain courteous and non-combative. You should realize that most - if not all - of the people responding to your post are not affiliated with SPEWS.
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