Option to disable "List-Unsubscribe" header for some domains

[13.]

Hello.

There is a problem with some popular mailing services, where if user performed the action listed in "List-Unsubscribe" header, this email will be also automatically marked as spam.

This way a lot of emails become wrongly marked as spam even if user did not planned to do this and just wanted to unsubscribe.

It would be nice to have an option where we can disable this header for user-defined list of recipient domains, so our emails wont marked as spam just because of that strange implementation of unsubscribe functionality in that services.

Here are services which should be listed in this exception list by default:

*@mail.ru
*@list.ru
*@inbox.ru
*@bk.ru

 

[Sonya*]

We have been blocked by the mail provider as well exact for the same reason. We even have users that "unsubscribe" from the mails that they have requested if they forget their passwords.   

[bfarber]

This is interesting - all research I can find indicates that including the header actually reduces your chances of being seen as spam, because you are providing a clear and conspicuous way for users to opt out.

Do you have any links to back up the assertion that those services treating the usage of a List-Unsubscribe link as marking as spam? Many services will put emails from the sender in the junk folder after the link has been used, but that's not quite the same as flagging the sender as a spammer.

[Sonya*]

Here in Russian https://help.mail.ru/developers/mailing_rules/general

You should use a link in Link-Unsubsribe that allows user instantly unsubscribing right after clicking on the link or sending a mail to the given mail address. No action should be required from user as this is done in background and no feedback will be given to the frontend.

Mail.ru said to us: If there are still new mails from the mail address after Unsubscribe has been used then these mails will be automatically treated as spam.

[13.]

Quote

Do you have any links to back up the assertion that those services treating the usage of a List-Unsubscribe link as marking as spam?

Here is this problem is described in more detail.

Same page with google translation.

We've contacted with Mail.ru about this problem but they don't want to change this behaviour, so we need a way to prevent this behaviour from our side.

[bfarber]

18 hours ago, Sonya* said:

Here in Russian https://help.mail.ru/developers/mailing_rules/general

You should use a link in Link-Unsubsribe that allows user instantly unsubscribing right after clicking on the link or sending a mail to the given mail address. No action should be required from user as this is done in background and no feedback will be given to the frontend.

Mail.ru said to us: If there are still new mails from the mail address after Unsubscribe has been used then these mails will be automatically treated as spam.

See, their own help guides recommend using the header.

The problem is - transactional emails are different from mailing list emails. The unsubscribe functionality automatically adjusts their preference, but wouldn't stop things like "someone has quoted you" from being sent when appropriate (i.e. if the user has that option enabled for email notifications). It sounds like this particular service simply doesn't distinguish between the two.

I'll toss the idea around internally a bit to see what solutions we can come up with.

[13.]

4 hours ago, bfarber said:

See, their own help guides recommend using the header.

But the same time they mark emails as spam, so it does not matter what they recommend while their own behaviour is strange and uncommon.

Our goal is deliver message to user and don't get into "spam" and not to "follow recommendations, even if they destructive for us", isn't it? 🙂

PS. Actually they mark as spam immediately after "Unsubscribe" action, not only if user still get this emails, this is why it's so dangerous to send them mails with Unsubscribe header.

[bfarber]

That's not exactly what their guide says. It says that the list-unsubscribe link will be followed, and then the email will be moved into the spam folder. That's different from flagging the sender as a spammer.