MAPS' Definition of "spam"

Service Access Methods

	What are the methods available for subscribing to MAPS' services?
	Won't querying your server delay my mail?
	Ok, but if there is a delay, won't my mail get backlogged?
	Doesn't querying your server use a lot of bandwidth?
	What if a compromised host keeps sending me viruses?
	Having my own server is more reliable, isn't it?
	Won't I see updates faster on my own server?
	Why does my server sometimes not show hosts that I know are listed?

MAPS' Delivery Infrastructure

	How accessible are MAPS' services?
	How are the networked servers kept up-to-date?
	How redundant is the MAPS network?

MAPS' Definition of "spam"

STANDARD:
An electronic message is "spam" IF: (1) the recipient's personal identity and context are irrelevant because the message is equally applicable to many other potential recipients; AND (2) the recipient has not verifiably granted deliberate, explicit, and still-revocable permission for it to be sent; AND (3) the transmission and reception of the message appears to the recipient to give a disproportionate benefit to the sender.

1. Trivial or mechanized personalization such as "Dear Mr. Jones, we see that you are the holder of the JONES.COM domain" does not make the personal identity of the recipient relevant in any way.

2. Failing to click the "do not send me marketing literature by e-mail" button in a web sign-up form does not convey explicit permission. Only when the default result is "no follow-up e-mail" AND the inbox impact is clearly stated before any action which changes this result, can permission of this kind be conveyed.

3. The appearance of disproportionate benefit to the sender, and the relevancy of the recipient's specific personal identity, are authoritatively determined by the recipient, and is not subject to argument or reinterpretation by the sender.

4. Non-personal e-mail always places a disproportionate cost burden on the recipient, and is considered to disproportionately benefit the sender unless it was verifiably solicited or by the recipient's willing exception.

5. A message need not be offensive or commercial in order to fit the definition of "spam." Content is irrelevant except to the extent necessary to determine personal applicability, consent, and benefit.

Service Access Methods

What are the methods available for subscribing to MAPS' services?

In general, we recommend that customers subscribe using the query method to access our services and for most of our customers this is very adequate. Some larger customers, with more than 100,000 users, may be eligible to use transfer mode further qualification is required. The RBL service is the only service to allow for BGP access and this is also available to a very limited number of customers.

Won't querying your server delay my mail?

Our servers are optimized for high-performance DNS service. They are geographically distributed and connected via high-bandwidth links. Response time is typically a fraction of a second, so any delays will be indiscernible, and in many cases a query to one of our servers will be faster than using your own server.

Ok, but if there is a delay, won't my mail get backlogged?

Mail servers process separate incoming messages in parallel, so a slight pause in processing of one message will have no effect on another.

Doesn't querying your server use a lot of bandwidth?

Not nearly as much as a zone transfer every three hours. The possible exception would be if you have extremely high mail volume and this is dependent on your infrastructure.

What if a compromised host keeps sending me viruses?

DNS allows caching, so once your server has queried ours regarding the compromised host, the response will be cached for several hours, eliminating the need for repetitive requests for the same data.

Having my own server is more reliable, isn't it?

Because of the size of the blackhole list zones, many DNS servers will fail or perform poorly unless carefully tuned and monitored. Our servers are dedicated to this task and have been configured specifically for the job.

Won't I see updates faster on my own server?

Quite the contrary, our query servers get updates directly from our master server, whereas transfer customers compete with other transfer customers to receive updates from one of our secondary servers. That means query customers will see new listings more quickly -- and more quickly notice that hosts are no longer listed once they have been fixed.

Why does my server sometimes not show hosts that I know are listed?

Most sites use the BIND software for DNS service. While loading updates to a zone, BIND won't return any answers for that zone, and with a large zone that outage might last a while. We handle queries via multiple, redundant servers so your mail server won't suffer this temporary blindness to listed hosts.

MAPS' Delivery Infrastructure

How accessible are MAPS' services?

MAPS operates a highly reliable and available network to ensure delivery of our mission critical services to our customers. Our dedicated network of servers are geographically distributed and connected via high-bandwidth links. They are optimized for high-performance DNS service and have been configured specifically for the job. Due to the size of our lists, we carefully tune and closely monitor our network to assure 100% availability.

How are the networked servers kept up-to-date?

All servers on the network are regularly updated directly from the master server at scheduled intervals. When necessary, we can push updates at a more frequent rate. We handle queries via multiple redundant servers and process separate incoming messages in parallel, so a slight pause in processing of one message will have no effect on another. Response time is typically a fraction of a second with new listings and deletions being immediately available.

How redundant is the MAPS network?

The MAPS network currently consists of six servers distributed throughout North America; located in San Jose, CA; San Francisco, CA (2); Vancouver, BC; Reston, VA: and Atlanta, GA. They are located in major collocation facilities with dedicated 100 MB segments and extensive peering at each facility. The entire network has been designed for superior reliability and performance, with complete redundancy. This network is continually being optimized and expanded to maintain the highest availability possible for our customers.