Guidelines for Using Alentus Web Servers for Sending Mail

Please ensure that the device/program that sends mail via Alentus Webservers follows these guidelines:

1. Send email in batches of no more than about 100 per batch; wait at least 3 minutes before sending out its next batch.

2. The program needs to handle bounces so that if a mailbox is unreachable (it does not exist or is full, or not accepting email for whatever reason), those emails are automatically removed from your database. The application MUST NEVER try repeatedly to send to unreachable mailboxes.

3. Every email must include a clear notice of how the subscriber can unsubscribe. At the very minimum, the unsubscribe method needs to be they type where the recipient can visit a web page and enter in their email address to confirm their decision to unsubscribe. Methods that include replying with Unsubscribe in a return email are ineffective as most people know that is a way spammers confirm your email address.

4. If the number of emails you are trying to send is high, you need to make use of a SQL Server or MySQL Database. An MS Access database cannot handle the performance needed to perform the collecting of the email address, batching, and sending, without negatively impacting the servers performance.

Alentus highly recommends using a product like Xigla's Absolute NewsLetter.NET product (http://www.xigla.com/absolutenl/) as a mailer product.