Comcast has introduced a new policy for dealing with spam. They want to protect their users from spam, for which we cannot blame them. However, one must be careful about spam filters, and make sure that they do not remove valid legitimate mail that users really do wish to see. This is where Comcast has failed miserably.

Comcast's new policy is to block ALL mail from sites from which they have detected a certain amount of spam. The spam that is detected sometimes does not even originate on the blocked site, but rather is forwarded at the request of the end user. The penalty is that all mail from such a site is blocked as if it were spam. Rather than doing Comcast's users a favor, they are making it impossible for them to receive some email that they wish to receive. And to make matters worse, they are not notifying the users of the lost mail. They are simply refusing to accept it.

This full e-mail blockage has happened three times in November and December 2006. There is no indication that it will stop any time soon. This policy impacts NCEMSF's quarterly e-mail announcements as well as any membership-related correspondence such as conference registration confirmations.

Regardless of whether Comcast is blocking NCEMSF at the moment, we are concerned about the users who have Comcast email addresses. Even though your mail originating on NCEMSF may sometimes be getting through, the possibility exists that other sites may be blocked. The sad fact is that you really have no way of knowing where else besides NCEMSF you may be losing mail from. There is nothing unique about NCEMSF in terms of its relationship to Comcast except that we are very small, so it is harder for us to make waves than for other, larger systems.

If you are unhappy with this state of affairs, we strongly urge you to complain to Comcast about the loss of important email. We know Comcast will tell you that they cannot handle your complaint. They will only accept a complaint from the site's mail system administrator. We will work with them as best we can, but this is your mailbox, so we feel you have a right to complain. Help them to understand that they are not doing you any favors when they remove good mail along with the spam.