Notes on Sending Mail
In order to reduce the impact of so-called "spam" (unsolicited bulk
mail), I have implemented several measures on the achurch.org mail
server to block unwanted mail, which would otherwise reach from hundreds to
thousands of messages per day. Unfortunately, these measures can
potentially block regular mail as well, if the server decides that the
message "looks like" spam. In order to prevent your mail from being
rejected, please keep the following notes in mind:
- Don't use HTML mail.
"HTML mail" refers to mail written using the HTML formatting language (the
language used to write web pages), and allows things like different-colored
text or underlines to be included in mail. However, experience has shown
that misuse of HTML mail in spam far outweighs its practical benefits, and
I have therefore decided to filter all HTML mail. When you send
mail, please use plain text (no formatting)
only.
- Don't
use blank or meaningless "Subject" lines. The
achurch.org mail server will automatically reject any mail with a
"Subject" line containing phrases commonly seen in spam (such as phrases
relating to drugs, loans, or stocks). Even if such mail is accepted by the
server, I often delete mail with a nonsensical or empty subject without
reading it. Make sure your Subject line
accurately reflects the contents of your message.
- Addresses
and URLs seen in spam are blocked. The server will reject
any messages containing a mail address or URL which has been seen in a
previous spam message; in particular, domains which have been repeatedly
used to send spam are blocked entirely. Make
sure your "From" address is correct, and do not include any suspicious URLs
in your message.
- Incorrectly
configured servers may cause problems. While users of
major providers should have no trouble, I have in the past seen mail
rejected from people running personal mail servers or small companies with
their own mail servers, due to configuration errors on those servers. If
you experience such a problem, check in
particular that your server gives a valid name in the SMTP HELO
command.
- Beware of
blocks by other providers. Some providers have chosen to
blacklist the achurch.org mail server due either to its location
(Asia/Japan) or the nature of its connection (a private server with a
single static IP address). If you are using such a provider, you will
still be able to send mail to me, but I will not be able to respond, and
it will appear as though I either ignored or did not receive your message.
If you believe you should have received a reply and have not,
try sending mail from a different address.
If you do find a provider which has this problem, please inform the provider of
this link (http://achurch.org/dnsbl.html),
which contains technical details for the provider's mail server administrators.
Additionally, I am now refusing mail from providers which are
using such blacklists. If you try to send me mail and get an error message
saying "Your host is rejecting mail from achurch.org" or something similar,
that is the reason. The following providers (domains) are currently being
rejected:
I apologize for any inconvenience caused by these measures.
Also note that as of late 2025, even with these measures in place
I still receive dozens of spam messages per day, perhaps due to increasing
use of LLM tools to generate the messages; thus I am more likely to overlook
a message from someone with whom I have not previously communicated. I'm
afraid there's little that can be done about this other than stopping the
spammers themselves.
Send mail to achurch@achurch.org
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