Well, implementing your mail-merge feature might enable you to solve the
problem by less dramatic means, through the feedback loop.  Unless AOL
is going to take a lot of trouble to edit/sanitize reported mail to
clean out the results of the "Attn: &*TO;" substitution, once you
activate the banner you'll be able to identify the reporting user, and
then unsubscribe them.



>>> [log in to unmask] 5/18/2004 1:42:31 AM >>>
I host a number of lists on my server for various Boy Scouts groups in
the
Denver Area.  These lists are hosted for free, along with other
activities of
a more commercial nature.  All lists I host require confirmation
before
subscribing, so nobody gets on unless they really want to be there.

A situation has come up over the last month or so with a few (3-4)
subscribers
to some of these free lists that I host on my LISTSERV Server.  These
persons
all use AOL.com as their ISP.  AOL's email client has a
'report-as-spam'
button, located immediately next to the 'Delete' button.  This close
proximity
may be a cause of accidental error, or these people (or others in their
family
that share the same email account) may really intend to report the list
email
they receive as 'spam'.

Whatever their reason is, the result is that they (falsely) report
this
Scouting mail as spam, which causes AOL to block my server.  I have
discovered
by painful experience that as few as 3 complaints will result in
blocking of
my server.  AOL blocks automatically based on the number of complaints
received over some unknown period of time (probably 1 day).  After
several of
these automatic blocks, the block becomes permanent until I beg and
plead with
AOL and explain the situation.  AOL of course will not reveal who the
complainers are, for privacy reasons.  I would be happy to remove these
few
people if I could just figure out who they are.

It costs me significant time and effort to get this blockage cleared
and it is
really annoying to have the block reinstated automatically by someone
apparently cleaning out their mailbox.  I can tell this because I have
setup a
feedback loop with aol.com.  They will forward to me copies of any/all
emails
reported to them as TOS-spam (Terms of Service spam).  While I can't
tell who
the mail was sent to, I can tell what list(s) it came from.  Just last
Friday
evening, 16 TOS-spam complaints were filed over a 10 minute period.
In
reverse sequential order they are old posts from 4 of my scouting lists
going
back to early April.  That looks like someone cleaning their mailbox.

I have determined that I cannot let this condition continue.  I must
delete
these reporting user(s).  I feel I must choose one of the following
courses of
action to be certain of deleting them.  I find all of them unpleasant.
I seek
your suggestions and advice as to which option below I should take or
any
other suggestions you may have for dealing with the problem.

1.  Delete everyone with *@aol.com addresses from all lists.  Send them
an
email message explaining the problem of false report-as-spam and
(perhaps with
clickable links) to make it easy for them to resubscribe to the list(s)
they
were formerly subscribed to, but ONLY if they promise/agree never to
report
such voluntarily requested mail as spam and agree that they have an
obligation
to unsubscribe rather than report-as-spam if they no longer want to
receive
mail from the list.  (A separate but similar explanatory message would
be sent
to all non-aol.com subscribers making them aware of the problem also.)


2.  Delete absolutely everyone from all lists.  Send them an email
message explaining the problem of false report-as-spam and (perhaps
with
clickable links) to make it easy for them to resubscribe to the list(s)
they
were formerly subscribed to, but ONLY if they promise/agree never to
report
such voluntarily requested mail as spam and agree that they have an
obligation
to unsubscribe rather than report-as-spam if they no longer want to
receive
mail from the list.


3.  Discontinue hosting of these lists.


In any case, the following banner will now appear at the _top_ of all
messages
to any/all such free lists hosted on my server.  I use Mail-Merge= Yes
(and I
have LSMTP) to populate the &*TO; with each recipient's email address
everytime.

                ========================================
Attn: &*TO;
You subscribed to this list voluntarily.  Therefore, email from this
list should NEVER be reported as 'spam' to your ISP (or anywhere else)
because you have specifically _requested_ to receive this email.  If
you
have changed your mind and you no longer want to receive this email,
you
have an obligation to unsubscribe, rather than report the email as
'spam'
(mail you don't want to receive).

When you falsely report this list's email as 'spam' it causes business
disruption to the server site hosting this list as a _free_ service to
your community.  Further disruptions from such false 'spam' reports
may
result in termination of this list for ALL participants.  Please learn
the difference between the 'delete' and 'report-as-spam' buttons in
your
email client program and remember the obligation you accepted by
subscribing
here in the first place.  If you share your email account with others,
be
certain they clearly understand not to 'report-as-spam' this list's
email
by mistake!

If you no longer want to receive email from this list, please
UNSUBSCRIBE
by writing to

  &LISTNAME-SIGNOFF-REQUEST@&MYHOST

Or please write to the Site Administrator at

  LISTSERV-REQUEST@&MYHOST

We will facilitate your prompt removal from all lists on the server.
                ========================================

Your comments on any of this will be appreciated.  Thanks!