Re: Re: mail() function and AOL users

This is something I've been dealing with for a little too long. AOL has a big list of methods they use to block what they think are spam. Some of these things are: - Reverse DNS Lookups: If you don't have an entry, your mail is dumped - Mail Formatting: If the format of your message is not RFC Compliant, your mail is dumped. - Open Relay Lists: If your IP is on a blacklist, your mail is dumped. - MX Record Lookups: If the domain of your address does not have an MX record, your mail is dumped. - Dynamic IP Lists: If you are on a (known) dynamically assigned IP address, your mail is dumped. - Message Content: If your message contains obfuscated (hex-coded) URL's, your mail is dumped. - Rolling Blockouts: Aol has been known to block whole blocks of IP's just because they feel like it. The list goes on like this for awhile. For more info, pay a visit to http://postmaster.info.aol.com/ --JMR Daniel.Brunner@Duni.com wrote:

Hello!! That's not always true. I just sent mail using php to my AOL account, and it worked. The smtp mail server doesn't have a reverse dns lookup. His problem might be that the SMTP server he is using my be on the black list. http://www.ordb.org/ This will cause a ton of problems. It took me 3 weeks to get off that list!!! Anyway... Instead of sending it like this... mail($email, "application submitted", $message, "From: employment@mycompany.com\r\n"); Do something like this... $text = stripslashes($text); $subject = stripslashes($sub); $header = "From: $From\nReply-To: $From\n"; $header .= "Cc: $cc\n"; $header .= "MIME-Version: 1.0\n"; $header .= "Content-Type: text/plain\n"; $header .= "Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bnoit\n\n"; $header .= "$text\n"; mail($To, $subject, "", $header); I alwasy like working with strings.... Dan -----Original Message----- From: RJameson [mailto:RJameson@usa.ibs.org] Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 2004 9:12 AM To: php-db Subject: RE: [PHP-DB] Re: mail() function and AOL users I'm quite sure it's not a problem with the mail function. It's probably the reverse dns configuration on your SMTP/sendmail server. AOL & Verizon have been two real sticklers for that. If you know the IP address that your server is sending the email from you can use this: http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/ptr.ch?ip=YOURIPADDRESS To check the revers dns resolution. You may be surprised. <>< Ryan -----Original Message----- From: Manuel Lemos [mailto:mlemos@acm.org] Sent: Tuesday, May 18, 2004 10:28 PM To: php-db@lists.php.net Subject: [PHP-DB] Re: mail() function and AOL users Hello, On 12/12/2003 04:34 AM, Matt Perry wrote:

I use the following php mail function in an online applicaiton

program:

mail($email, "application submitted", $message, "From: employment@mycompany.com\r\n"); This function does not always work when I modify $message. I have checked for null values for $message already but this does not seem to

be the problem. I am trying to develop some sort of pattern of when this function works and when it does not. The only essential difference between the values I pass in for message

is the one that does not always work includes a link. Apparently anyone useing AOL email is particularly vulnerable to this problem. Is it likely that AOL and other mail servers sometimes block any email

from a web site if it has a link in the main body? Or should I not be

useing mail() in this manner to begin with?

Maybe you are not generating the message headers and body properly. Without seeing the code that you use to define $message, it is hard to tell. I just suggest that you try this class to properly compose and send your messages: http://www.phpclasses.org/mimemessage