[Am-info] anyone else get the viri message with the empty subject line?

[Eric M. Hopper]

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On Fri, 2002-08-16 at 11:10, Mitch Stone wrote:
>=20
> On Friday, August 16, 2002, at 09:04 AM, Eric M. Hopper wrote:
>=20
>> On Fri, 2002-08-16 at 10:56, Mitch Stone wrote:
>>> Even being subscribed isn't a guarantee that you'll be able to post.
>>> About 50% of my posts are rejected, which is why I don't bother much
>>> anymore.
>>
>> Hmm, I never have that problem.  Are you sure you always have the same
>> 'From:' address?
>=20
> Yup. Here is a typical transcript:

Oh, this is a stupid rule by the person who set up the mailserver.  A
really stupid rule.

Every IP address is supposed to have a reverse lookup to a hostname, but
many ISPs don't actually do that properly.  Here's what's going on for
you:

204.179.120.97 maps to smtpout.mac.com
smtpout.mac.com maps to any one of 204.179.120.85, 204.179.120.86,
204.179.120.88, 204.179.120.89

Notice how the name the IP maps to does not map back to that IP.  I
think that's what the mailserver is complaining about.  Essentially,
it's a spam prevention measure.  But, really, basing any kind of spam
prevention on DNS things is silly.  The two are not strongly related.

Maybe this is a standard feature of postfix, which is the MTA
essential.org uses.

You might ask the mac.com people if they can arrange it so that their
DNS records don't trip this strange rule.

Have fun (if at all possible),
--=20
The best we can hope for concerning the people at large is that they
be properly armed.  -- Alexander Hamilton
-- Eric Hopper (hopper@omnifarious.org=20
http://www.omnifarious.org/~hopper) --

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