Re: [kshiring@nc.rr.com: [postmaster@sourceware] Fwd: failure notice]

[Ian Lance Taylor <ian@airs.com>]

   Date: Tue, 27 Jun 2000 07:36:03 +0200 (MET DST)
   From: Gerald Pfeifer <pfeifer@dbai.tuwien.ac.at>

   That mail server is an open relay but apparently the provider (rr.com
   has a somewhat bad reputation) blocks the regular relay tests performed
   by ORBS.

   These kind of static ORBS listing usually shows that a provider is a
   die-hard spammer haven or just does not care about the problem at all.

The result of the ORBS tests on many correctly configured systems is
to send mail to the postmaster (I personally get a bunch of ORBS mail
every couple of months).  Many people block the ORBS relay tests
because they don't care to get unsolicited ORBS mail dumped in their
mailbox.  Blocking the ORBS tests does not imply that a site is a
spammer haven or that they don't care about the problem.

ORBS blocks sites which blocks the ORBS tests, which I don't think is
particularly friendly.  However, fortunately, it blocks them with a
different mechanism.  See
    http://www.orbs.org/usingindex.html
You can look at the result of the DNS lookup to see which table the
ORBS entry is in.  You may also be able to look at a subdomain of
orbs.org--I'm not quite sure what the subdomains mean.  This can be
used to permit mail from ORBS administratively blocked site.

Ian