December 22, 2011 :: Tempest spam issue

[Jason]

Earlier this week, we tracked down an account that was sending spam and triggered some email blacklisting of our server Tempest.

We submitted the necessary requests and all the major spam blacklists reported the server as not listed shortly after that time.

However, there is a system called "Senderbase" that some providers (like Godaddy) use that has a reputation system.  Unfortunately for this system, you can't just request immediate removal like most systems.  The process can take some time to complete.

As of this time, Tempest is still showing a "poor" rating on Senderbase whereas it's not listed elsewhere that I see.  This means that certain services (Godaddy for sure) are currently blocking email sent to its customers from Tempest.

You can tell if the bounce message contains text like:

someone@somedomain.com
    SMTP error from remote mail server after initial connection:
    host smtp.secureserver.net [x.x.x.x]:
554-m1pismtp01-037.prod.mesa1.secureserver.net
    554 Your access to this mail system has been rejected due to the sending MTA's poor reputation. If you believe that this failure is in error, please contact the intended recipient via alternate means.

"Secureserver.net" is Godaddy's mail system.

If you're interested, here's a link to the Senderbase page that has all of our servers.

http://www.senderbase.org/senderbase_queries/detaildomain?search_string=charlottezweb.com

We received an initial reply from them as it relates to Tempest and are waiting for their follow up.  If you are facing issues that require a more immediate fix, please contact me via direct email or a support ticket and we can move your account if needed.

Thank you,
Jason

[Jason]

FYI, in checking Senderbase today, it looks like Tempest is back in the clear.

Thanks for your patience as we worked on cleaning this up.

Regards,
Jason