I’ve recently had a problem with Earthlink and Mindspring blocking emails from my main domain to certain clients. It is problematic and annoying. Here’s what I have done to resolve the problem.
1. First, always make sure you are reviewing your junk mail folder as typically bounces and non-deliveries of emails will be sent here. If you don’t routinely check this file, you will never know if your email has been bounced back to you.
2. If you do find that your emails are regularly (more than several times) is being bounced back with a blocked mail message from Earthlink, then you need to take action. For me the first thing I did was to correspond with those clients using a different email account like my Gmail or MSN account until the problem was resolved. I then replied to one of the blocked email messages and Earthlink sent me instructions on how to resolve the problem.
3. I have to get the IP address of my mail server from my web host. Sometimes you can find this IP address in your domain records under the MX listing. If you don’t see it there, ask your web host.
4. Then using the syntax Earthlink wants in the subject line, send an email to Earthlink asking them to whitelist your IP address.
I found that they had not blocked my IP address as they confirmed that it was not on their blocked list and told me that it was most likely an intermittent problem.
It is a pain to have to go through this hassle, but if it had been blocked, this would have effectively resolved the problem or advised me of a bigger issue that needed more attention like my web host being a spammer haven with a whole block of IP addresses blocked. If you find that this would be the case, it would be a good reason to change web hosts immediately.
I have Earthlink as an ISP, the email adr @mcn.net is (has always been) my adr used by earthlink.
Suddenly (Nov 2010) Earthlink will not process ANY email from me or my wife, who also has this alias and an Earthlink account. Since we don’t have any way to contact the dolts at Earthlink, we cannot begin to solve this problem. Trying to get “help” on the nonfunctional Earthlink websites is an invitation to mindboggling frustration – most links are broken, the chat is with braindead people who cannot even understand the problem, phone is hopeless, etc etc etc.
I’m going to have to finally get rid of this total dog (Earthlink) but I would like to have functional email during the changeover. I guess this is hopeless.
I would advise anyone to AVOID EARTHLINK LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!
Nov 2010
I have an email account at eumx.net using my own domain name and earthlink recently started blocking my email. Ironically I also am an earthlink customer and cannot send email to myself at earthlink! I and eumx have been trying to have earthlink unblock this. We have called and emailed but getting either no response or the run-around. I have a better idea for them to fight spam: block all email!
Same problem with receiving my daughters email from Costa Rica. She has a yahoo account and all mail keeps getting dumped into “known spam folder” She has no other problems from other with other receivers. Low end techs at Earthlink were worthless in trying to figure out this problem. Two sessions and five different techs. Senior techs now state its a IP address sending pharma spam, travel site spam, dating spam. She ran a scan for Malware and no problems.
I can verify that I’ve had a huge issue with Earthlink, which is my current internet provider (although I’m giving serious thought about changing that), in that they have consistently and on two different occasions about a year apart blocked my emails forwarded through my web host. The problem isn’t just about my emails but emails sent to possible clients who use email and what emails sent to me that they’re blocking. How I resolved the problem was to communicate with my web hosting service, Sustainable Websites; on two occasions they’ve had to intervene. So far, so good.
That is a thorny problem. Sometimes the reason you are blocked is not even about your domain but about a block of server IP addresses at your web host that are known spammers. Going to Spamhaus.com to see if your server block is on the list is a good place to start. There may be other issues at play.
if your IP wasn’t blocked, how did you resolve the problem with Earthlink so your E-mails were not returned? We are having a terrible problem in Europe where Earthlink is blocking 10% of the IP addresses of people we are working with and even though we notified Earthlink correctly there has been no change