"v=spf1 a mx ptr include:earthlink.net ~all"
I smarthost my mail through smtpauth.earthlink.net. The mail path then bounces around inside earthlink for a while. The "spf why" page says:
hermes.apache.org saw a message coming from the IP address 209.86.89.61 which is smtpauth01.mail.atl.earthlink.net; the sender claimed to be [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Earthlink's SPF record at present appears to be:
"v=spf1 ip4:207.217.120.0/23 ip4:207.69.200.0/24 ip4:209.86.93.0/24 ip4:207.69.195.0/24 ?all"
This doesn't include the server they sent your message out from.
How can I configure the SPF record to work?
Your record's fine. Earthlink messed up by not listing all their outgoing servers in their SPF record, or by setting up new servers without updating their SPF record.
Notify Earthlink of the problem, and once they've updated their own SPF record it should be fine.
Is it possible to use SPF in this environment?
Of course, there is one more issue: hermes.apache.org should not be rejecting mail based on a *softfail*, which is what that message should have triggered. "~all" means "mail will probably never come from any other servers than these, but we're not absolutely certain," not "mail will only ever come from these servers."
-- Kelson Vibber SpeedGate Communications <www.speed.net>
