validity

An email feedback loop (aka ISP feedback loop or complaint feedback loop) is a spam reporting mechanism implement by an internet service provider (ISP) or mailbox provider (MBP) that allows spam complaints to flow back to the sender or sender’s email platform. Those forwarded “report spam” notifications allow the sender or sending platform to unsubscribe those who complain and also to provide sender feedback to understand which clients, lists or campaigns are causing the highest number or percentage of spam complaints.ISPs and MBPs already collect and correlate spam complaint data for their own uses. When you click the “report spam” button in Gmail, or Outlook.com, Yahoo, or elsewhere, those services capture and log your complaint, to feed into their internal spam filtering systems, to generate reputation-related metrics about the sender. Senders who generate more spam complaints are more likely to find themselves blocked, or to find their mail relegated to the spam…

If you monitor ISP feedback loop complaints, you may have noticed that the level of spam complaints received was greatly reduced over the weekend, as it appears that the Validity-run Universal FBL system seems to have stopped sending feedback loop complaint reports at some point on Saturday.Validity’s Universal Feedback Loop (FBL) is a system that handles ISP feedback loop complaint processing and forwarding for more than two dozen mailbox providers.I’m assuming that this likely afftected all of the FBLs managed by Validity, which includes: BlueTie, Comcast, COX, Fastmail, Italia Online, LiberoMail, Virgilio, Laposte.net, Liberty Global, UnityMedia, UPC, Locaweb, Mail.ru, OpenSRS, Rackspace, Seznam.cz, SilverSky, Swisscom, Synacor, TIM, Telenet, Telenor, Telstra, Terra, UOL, Virgin Media, XS4ALL, Yandex, and Ziggo.Validity appears to be in the process of restoring service as of Monday morning, March 21st and complaints appear to be flowing again. Spam reports could show a spike (temporary increase in volume) as…

Validity’s Mathieu Girol has announced that Telecom Italia will now be offering an ISP Feedback Loop through the Validity Universal FBL service. If you manage feedback loops for an ESP or email sending platform, you’ll want to go sign up for this ASAP!The domains this new ISP FBL covers are: tim.it, tin.it, alice.it. And here’s all the different ISPs and companies covered via the Validity FBL service:And if you’re new to deliverability and FBLs, perhaps wondering exactly what is an ISP Feedback Loop and what does it do, click here for more details.