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Please explain the difference to me. Mailgun is sending tons and tons of spam email; what is so special about them that they aren't ending up in people's spam/

Please explain the difference to me. Mailgun is sending tons and tons of spam email; what is so special about them that they aren't ending up in people's spam/junk folders?

slig 7y ago
They probably send much, much more valid emails, respond quickly to abuse reports, and since they're large/known enough, they won't get blacklisted because that would be disruptive to large, legit business.
aseipp 7y ago
Mail providers like Mailgun live or die based on their reputation. If they as a sender get marked as spam by "The Algorithms", then their product is useless. They almost certainly respond to abuse reports quickly and have enough reputation, and enough legitimate clients, that they have "leeway". But that leeway isn't unlimited. There was a big fit thrown on this website a year or two ago when one transactional mail provider (MailChimp?) said they were banning crypto companies with ICOs from their service. They literally put "ICOs are not welcome" in their Terms of Service. Why? Because first off, ICOs are scams. And that means they buy email lists, and then spam the shit out of people with "buy into our ICO!" emails, which get immediately shitcanned into the spam folder by 99.99% of users -- they're no different than Nigerian Princes, as far as most people care. That behavior tanks the reputation of the sender, and you cannot reason with The Algorithm once it "recognizes" you as spam. That kind of problem is not a minor inconvenience to companies like Mailgun, it's an existential threat.
- lolc 7y ago
  They really care with their reputation on the line. Here for example is their response to the only complaint I've had to send Mailgun: "Thanks for sending this over. I was able to tie this sender to a compromised account, which has been disabled in our system to prevent further messages." Pity we'll have to move off them. It was good while it lasted.

Please explain the difference to me. Mailgun is sending tons and tons of spam email; what is so special about them that they aren't ending up in people's spam/junk folders?

slig 7y ago

They probably send much, much more valid emails, respond quickly to abuse reports, and since they're large/known enough, they won't get blacklisted because that would be disruptive to large, legit business.

aseipp 7y ago

Mail providers like Mailgun live or die based on their reputation. If they as a sender get marked as spam by "The Algorithms", then their product is useless. They almost certainly respond to abuse reports quickly and have enough reputation, and enough legitimate clients, that they have "leeway". But that leeway isn't unlimited. There was a big fit thrown on this website a year or two ago when one transactional mail provider (MailChimp?) said they were banning crypto companies with ICOs from their service. They literally put "ICOs are not welcome" in their Terms of Service. Why? Because first off, ICOs are scams. And that means they buy email lists, and then spam the shit out of people with "buy into our ICO!" emails, which get immediately shitcanned into the spam folder by 99.99% of users -- they're no different than Nigerian Princes, as far as most people care. That behavior tanks the reputation of the sender, and you cannot reason with The Algorithm once it "recognizes" you as spam. That kind of problem is not a minor inconvenience to companies like Mailgun, it's an existential threat.

lolc 7y ago
They really care with their reputation on the line. Here for example is their response to the only complaint I've had to send Mailgun: "Thanks for sending this over. I was able to tie this sender to a compromised account, which has been disabled in our system to prevent further messages." Pity we'll have to move off them. It was good while it lasted.