On 2020-11-21 22:02:19 (+0800), Luke via mailop wrote:
Why hasn't anyone mentioned the mythic-beasts.com stuff being
potentially
problematic? The host name, A record, mx record, ptr record are all
mythic-beast.com. If Google doesn't like them, all this stuff you're
doing
is a moot point.
Possibly because the mythic beasts are likely a red herring. I host
outbound mailservers at mythic beasts and (on average) have no problem
delivering to Google. Provided I don't go on holiday or get too busy to
send a regular trickle of email to enough friends or comparatively busy
mailing lists. I know others (on this list and elsewhere) with similar
experiences.
As far as anyone can tell (plenty of discussions on the topic on
mailop@), Google's secret sauce is largely based on reputation. And it
seems to have "evolved" (or perhaps "adapted" is a better term) to the
point that it cares about individual servers as much as larger
netblocks. Except when it sometimes doesn't. It's hard to tell.
The only thing that seems to consistently (I hesitate to use the word
"reliably") get your email into the inbox at Gmail is to keep sending
enough of the kind that people reply to. Having people reply to your
email seems to be a strong signal to the Machine. Having mail moved out
of junk appears to be a weaker signal. Simply being read is not good
enough to appease the Machine.
My current perception of the Google Machine is this:
1. A previously unseen server is treated like spam.
2. If enough people move email out of spam, it might be okay and some
email will reach the inbox.
3. If enough people reply to email, even more of it will go to the
inbox.
4. If the volume fluctuates wildly (100 messages one day, 3 the next),
go back to spam.
5. If you consistently send email people reply to, you can fluctuate a
little. Maybe.
6. If no email turns up for a while, forget it exists and go back to
spam.
7. Consistent replies over long periods don't appear to affect (6). Go
quiet and you go to spam.
Values of "enough" in the list above seem to be somewhat influenced by
hosting provider (mythic beasts does better than some) but I doubt
that's quantifiable by anyone. Possibly not even by Google. I get the
impression that the Machine has taken over and humans only exist to tune
it slightly.
This is all empirical guesswork.
The system is clearly better adapted to dealing with large, steady,
volumes of email from bulk senders. Small organisations or individuals
running their own email seem to be an afterthought. The only way they
can play too, is to stay visible and remind the Machine of their
existence. Go quiet and you're out. Become less predictable and you're
out.
Happily most people I communicate with who host their email at Google
have been conditioned into routinely checking their junk folder and
interacting with the not-junk that accumulates there.
Email is hard. It'll never catch on.
Philip
--
Philip Paeps
Senior Reality Engineer
Alternative Enterprises
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