How can I be de-listed? (Dispute Resolution)

Dispute Resolution

We make a great effort to avoid errors and mistakes, especially on the SpamCop Blocking List (SCBL). However, mistakes sometimes happen. When we learn of an erroneous listing, we do our best to correct it in a timely manner. However, the SpamCop staff receives a lot of mail. While we want to help anyone who thinks their listing is a mistake, we need your help and cooperation to handle requests quickly and efficiently.

NO WARRANTY OR LIABILITY: BY USING THE SCBL, OR ANY INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THE SPAMCOP WEBSITE, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT THE SCBL IS PROVIDED "AS IS", SPAMCOP DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE EFFECTIVENESS OR RESULTS OF THE SCBL OR ANY OTHER SERVICE OR PRODUCT PROVIDED BY SPAMCOP, AND ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, IMPLIED OR OTHERWISE, ARE EXPRESSLY EXCLUDED. IN NO EVENT SHALL SPAMCOP, OR ITS PARENT, SUBSIDIARIES OR LICENSORS, BE LIABLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, EXEMPLARY OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE SCBL OR THE SPAMCOP WEBSITE, HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY.

IMPORTANT:

Please do not file an appeal asking SpamCop to remove an IP address from the SCBL. All SCBL listings expire 24 hours from the time of the last reported email. If reports stop and an IP address owner does nothing else, the SCBL automatically removes the IP address within 24 hours.

Read more about how the blocking list works.

How to Alert SpamCop of an SCBL Error

To submit a possible SCBL error, follow these steps:

• Please first confirm that the SCBL lists the IP address∞. The IP address is NOT the same as an email address. The SCBL does not list email addresses. To identify a specific IP address or learn what an IP address is, talk to your network administrator or ISP. Ask your network administrator to investigate and contact SpamCop, if necessary.

• Tell us clearly and concisely why the listing is in error. Attach the necessary supporting documentation (confirmation messages, log entries, etc.). Include full headers, and make sure that log files are time stamped. We can resolve an issue faster if we do not have to ask for more information. We generally do not need information like copies of whois records, traceroutes, etc. However, if there is a need to show us a large file, please put it on a web server and send us the URL for the file. Remove the file as soon as we have resolved the issue.

• Please be courteous. There is no need to threaten us with legal action or call us names. Those things will not help us resolve a dispute more quickly. In fact, legal threats may require that we confer with our legal counsel, thus delaying any action we might otherwise take.

• Please read all of the SCBL webpages before contacting us. It is easier to explain the mistake in the context of what SpamCop intended and designed the SCBL to do. If it is clear that a submitter has not read our webpages, SpamCop will return the submission and ask the submitter to review the documentation before writing to us again.

• Please do not ask us to make exceptions to our posted policies. We understand that not everyone likes or uses the SCBL. However, many administrators rely on the SCBL to help them control or stop unwanted email from reaching their users. We have described our policies and procedures in detail, so administrators and others who want to use the SCBL know exactly what they are getting if they choose to enable the SCBL on their servers. Our users depend on us to always do what we say we will do, in the manner we say we will do it. We take that responsibility seriously, and we are glad to have our users' trust. Because we value that trust, we do not make exceptions to our posted policies unless there has clearly been an error.

• If you received mail from SpamCop, please be certain the mail is a notification of a SCBL listing. Not all complaints sent by SpamCop concern an SCBL listing. In fact, some complaints (such as those that inform one of a website or email address that appears in reported email) should NEVER cause a SCBL listing unless the website or address is also hosted on the same IP address that sends email.

• Please do not assume that we will see a complaint or concern on a newsgroup or mailing list. We can only address issues when we are made aware of them directly.

Reasons to Appeal an SCBL Listing

There are two main reasons to appeal an SCBL listing: technical errors and user errors.

A technical error results if the SCBL is not working as advertised or the SpamCop complaint parser made a mistake. As a result, the SCBL lists an IP address that it should not. To appeal a technical error, please concisely tell us why the listing is in error, documenting as clearly as possible why or how the error occurred. Please show us evidence, as described above.

User mistakes occur when a SpamCop user reports email to the SpamCop complaint generator that is not eligible for reporting. To appeal a user error, please tell us how the report violates the standards set forth for SpamCop users. [[(SpamCop documents what kinds of email users should and should not report with the SpamCop complaint generator). Please show us a confirmation message showing opt-in by the user, if applicable.

If the user error is a result of a SpamCop submission when the user opted in to receive such email, please be prepared to show us evidence of this. We consider closed-loop confirmation (also known as "double opt in") as the most reliable proof that a user agreed to receive email. SpamCop may or may not consider other forms of evidence. This is at the sole discretion of the SCBL staff.

The SCBL will expedite removal of a newly secured and tested open proxy or open relay. Please first test the secured server with another open relay or open proxy DNSBL or tracking service.

If the need to appeal an SCBL listing remains, first completely read and understand this document and the other webpages regarding the SCBL practices and policies, then appeal an SCBL listing.

Lastly, there is no need to appeal the listing of an open proxy or open relay once it is secured and tested.

To appeal a listing, please start here.∞

If needed, see also Where to get Help

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SpamCopBlockingList
SpamCopHelpForAdmins

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