How the blacklist system works
Anyone who thinks they have received spam can file an e-mail complaint with the Mail Abuse Prevention System hotline.
According to MAPS, a staffer investigates each complaint and if the investigator decides that the offending e-mail is spam, MAPS tracks down the company that sent the spam and then negotiates with and tries to educate the company about acceptable e-mail practices. If that doesn't work, the company is blacklisted.
Once an address is listed, all ISPs that subscribe to the RBL automatically filter out traffic from the accused spammer's address space.
According to MAPS, the only way to get off the list is to abide by their policies.
There are many ways to be blacklisted:
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Contact Features Writer Suzanne Gaspar
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