We allow the use of email mailing lists on our Advanced and Reseller hosting plans only. The following mailing list conditions are in place ...
Software
By all means you can write your own bespoke script to send bulk mails however, these can often cause mail to be corrupted which will mark them as spam.
Instead, we recommend you make use of a pre-made script with batch sending and remote mailserver capabilities such as ...
Anyone operating a mailing list must ensure they comply with the rules set out below. Items highlighted with a pink/red heading and marked with an asterisk (*) are compulsory and mailing lists not abiding by these points will not be permitted.
*No Spam
It goes without saying that our servers are not to be used to send spam email (unsolicited bulk email).
*No Purchased Lists or Safe Lists
We do not allow 'safe lists' or other similar schemes whereby advertisers trade email contacts.
The vast majority of email address lists available for sale on the internet as 'legitimate opt-in lists of contacts who have agreed to be sent advertising emails' are fake and will lead to large numbers of spam reports so we do not allow the use of these purchased lists.
ALL addresses on a mailing list must agree to be sent email specifically from you, the website running the list.
*Double Opt-In
An opt-in method of list subscription is where the subscriber asks to be put on the list by, for example, entering their email address in a website form to become subscribed.
We require that list administrators employ double opt-in methods whereby the subscriber has to authorise being added to the list after initially submitting their email address. This usually takes the form of an automated email being sent to the address where a link needs to be clicked to confirm the subscription.
Not only does this get extra confirmation from the client, it also ensures that the email address is valid (avoiding problems with email bounces when sending to the list) and also that the email address is owned by the person subscribing (avoiding problems with people entering addresses not owned by them on website forms).
List administrators are also asked to keep evidence/logs of the date and method that subscribers agreed to be included in the mailing list.
*Unsubscribe Instructions
All emails sent to the mailing list must contain clear instructions for unsubscription (not tiny text or text otherwise hidden away within the email content). At a minimum, subscribers should be able to unsubscribe at any time by emailing their request. Unsubscription requests should be processed in a timely fashion.
We strongly recommend that list administrators implement an automated weblink unsubscription whereby all mailings contain a "click here to unsubscribe" link which will allow the user to be removed from the list in one click with no human intervention. This will also allow us to process unsubscriptions if any subscribers send in spam complaints and be more reliable as most do not feel comfortable replying to an email they consider as unwanted.
We do not force list administrators to use a weblink method of unsubscription but should any list generate regular spam complaints we do reserve the right to insist on this method of unsubscription for future mailings on our server.
*Single Opt Out
We ask that those operating mailing lists allow unsubscriptions (opt-out's) with no second confirmation or additional task required by those unsubscribing. If a subscriber clicks the unsubscribe link or requests unsubscription, their email address should then be removed from the database with no email confirmation or other tasks required.
*No Mailing List ONLY Hosting
You are not permitted to send mailings to advertise or promote a website that is not hosted with Saffas.
Email Content
We recommend that all mailings contain clear information detailing who the email is from and why the subscriber is being sent it (eg because the subscriber asked to be kept informed via the list).
Also, in order to help greatly if spam complaints do occur, we ask that the subscribers email address is included as text somewhere within the email so we know who the complaint is from and can be put in the email headers, within the content or embedded within the unsubscribe link (preferred method) or elsewhere in the email. This is because most blacklist notifications remove the senders email address which prevents us from knowing which email address needs to be removed from the database.
Example
An example of a mailing list email which complies with the above requirements is shown here ...
Joe Bloggs,
--------------
This email is being sent to you (email@change-domain.com) because you subscribed to the 'New Products' mailing list operated by Our Company Name after submitting the subscription form on our website (http://www.change-domain.com) and verifying your email address.
If you wish to unsubscribe, please click here ...
http://www.change-domain.com/link-to-unsubscribe
--------------
** mailing list content here **
--------------
The operator of this mailing list can be contacted below ...
Our Company Name, Address, Phone Number, etc
If you wish to unsubscribe from future mailings, please click here ...
http://www.change-domain.com/link-to-unsubscribe
To alter your subscription options please click here ...
http://www.change-domain.com/link-to-options
--------------
The guidelines above should result in no (or very few) problems relating to spam reports being sent by receivers of email they consider as spam.
Despite the above, we maintain the right to suspend any mailing list which generates a large number of abuse complaints in order to keep the server from being blacklisted and causing email problems for all other clients.
Traffic Volume
There is no set limit on the number of messages that can be sent per hour however, if we find use of the mailing list to be detrimental to other server users (sending thousands of emails over a short period of time) we will need to look at an alternative solution. If possible, we recommend setting the mailing list to send in batches of 100s (not 1000s).
Repeated Spamming
Internet users are becoming more aware of spam and how to report it. If you are bulk emailing a large number of users and a sufficient number of recipients report you for spam, your domain can be placed on various third-party "blacklists" which are used by hosting companies (ourselves included) to identify known spammers.
In some cases it is possible that you are reported for spam without actually having sent any (it might be that a spammer is using your domain to send spam themselves). It is difficult to counter-act this however, there needs to be a "sufficient" number of complaints from different sources before your domain is blacklisted.
If your domain is blacklisted it will restrict the use of email for that domain. It is possible to remove your domain name from a blacklist however, if we see repeated blacklisting of a domain and ongoing complaints from spam recipients, your hosting account with Saffas may be suspended at any time and without notice.
