I'll agree that RBLs are simply one weapon in an arsenal of those used to fight spam, and that they can be abused just like anything. However, I personally thi

I'll agree that RBLs are simply one weapon in an arsenal of those used to fight spam, and that they can be abused just like anything. However, I personally think they are among worst of the tools, and that they should be avoided. Simply based on aesthetics, the idea of generating extraneous traffic for 3rd party opinions about the spamminess of each of your emails offends my sensibilities. Next is the enormous time overhead of getting removed from such lists. The fact that some RBLs actually charge to be moved immediately is unconscionable. Large sites that maintain their own internal RBLs are no better. Ever try to get a tainted IP address to deliver to AT&T, or Yahoo, or Comcast? It's a nightmare. If you're unfortunate enough to purchase hosted IP space that was once home to a spammer, you may as well demand they give you a new IP block or cancel the account ASAP.