[Asrg] where the message originated (was: DKIM role?) (SM)

[Ian Eiloart]

--On 20 January 2009 19:32:41 -0800 Dave CROCKER <dhc at dcrocker.net> wrote:

>
>
> Ian Eiloart wrote:
>> So dead that of hotmail.com, gmail.com, mac.com, apple.com,
>> microsoft.com, facebook.com, ebay.com only er..., all of them publish
>> SPF records.
>
>
> It's not interesting who publishes SPF records.
>
> It's interesting who reads them.

That depends on whether you're deciding whether to publish them, or whether 
to read them.

If you're deciding whether to read them, then it's very interesting to know 
who's publishing them. Who else is reading them is of secondary importance.

If you're deciding whether to publish them, then it's interesting (but 
harder) to know who's reading them.

Of course, there's a cycle here. The value of SPF to readers increases as 
their trusted correspondents publish records, and to publishers as their 
trusted correspondents read records. The value to the world probably varies 
according to the product of the two probabilities: A that a received 
non-abusive email was received from an IP address with a positive SPF 
match, and B that the recipient checks the record. The value for me, 
depends only on those emails that pass my server. For inbound email, B is 
zero or one according to my choice. A is outside my control, but appears to 
be better than 30% already (for messages that pass IP address reputation 
checks).

>
> d/



-- 
Ian Eiloart
IT Services, University of Sussex
x3148