I have a hobbyist subscriber list of about 800 that I send emails to, predicting transits of the International Space Station across the moon & sun, for which I use Linux Sendmail on a cable connection that has a pseudo-static IP.
The ISPs (universities, etc.) of about 35 of those subscribers make use of things like http://www.dnsbl.us.sorbs.net which evidently consider my server to be using an untrustworthy, dial-up / dynamic IP.
The apparent problem is in the email header. If I use Microsoft Outlook Express to send an email, the header looks like:
Return-Path: <iss-nospam@charter.net>
Received: from mxsf08.cluster1.charter.net ([10.20.201.208])
by mtao01.charter.net
(InterMail vM.6.00.04.00 201-2115-106-20030714) with ESMTP
id <20040130181255.IHGO1201.mtao01.charter.net@mxsf08.cluster1.charter.net>
for <thomasfly@charter.net>; Fri, 30 Jan 2004 13:12:55 -0500
Received: from dell (cpe-69-166-34-135.spa.sc.charter.com [69.166.34.135])
by mxsf08.cluster1.charter.net (8.12.10/8.12.8) with SMTP id i0UIAGqB075752
for: 10:16 -0500 (EST)
(envelope-from iss-transit@charter.net)
Message-ID: <01d701c3e75c$50c919f0$0301a8c0@dell>
Using JavaMail, some additional "internal footprints" show up in the header, which evidently kick in the blacklisting:
Return-Path: <iss-nospam@charter.net>
Received: from mxsf22.cluster1.charter.net ([10.20.201.222])
by mtai02.charter.net
(InterMail vM.6.00.04.00 201-2115-106-20030714) with ESMTP
id <20040130180740.QXBH11783.mtai02.charter.net@mxsf22.cluster1.charter.net>
for <thomasfly@charter.net>; Fri, 30 Jan 2004 13:07:40 -0500
Received: from ThinkPad.Fly (cpe-69-166-34-135.spa.sc.charter.com [69.166.34.135])
by mxsf22.cluster1.charter.net (8.12.10/8.12.8) with ESMTP id i0UI6rgr084501
for: 06:53 -0500 (EST)
(envelope-from iss-transit@charter.net)
Received: from ThinkPad.Fly (ThinkPad.Fly [127.0.0.1]) <<
by ThinkPad.Fly (8.12.5/8.12.5) with ESMTP id i0UI5Exb002922
for: 05:14 -0500
Message-ID: <30914260.1075485914052.JavaMail.root@ThinkPad.Fly>
I assume it's actually Sendmail that's generating those headers, but I have no idea how to prevent it from sticking in the additional "localhost" footprint, and causing a "spam" rejection.