Best Practices

This document describes the PSL, explains its current strengths and limitations, and outlines some possible future enhancements. Most importantly, though, the community must step up and help to make sure it continues to exist. 

The Senders Committee has created this document in an effort to help Email Service Providers (ESPs) mitigate the consequences of hitting spam traps. The document provides details on what spam traps are, the impact they have on mailings, and includes suggestions on ways to use spam trap feedback to improve customers’ sending practices, thereby minimizing future spam trap hits. In this document, “customer” refers to the organization using the ESP to send emails. 

M3AAWG Objectionable Content Takedown Template (Checklist Only) to support the M3AAWG Objectionable Content Takedown Template.

(M3AAWG Objectionable Content Takedown Template Checklist)

(M3AAWG Objectionable Content Takedown Diagram - Download to Personalize)

This document provides a template for designing an enforcement process to use when an organization becomes aware of objectionable content being hosted on its network and determines that it requires a takedown. This objectionable content might fall under – but may not necessarily be limited to – the organization’s policies and applicable regulations.

M3AAWGパークドメインを保護するベストコモンプラクティス - M3AAWG Protecting Parked Domains Best Common Practices (Updated July 2022)

Many organizations and individuals register domains without an immediate intent to use these domains or to use them in a limited context. These domains (or subdomains) are not meant to send or receive email traffic. For instance, a domain can be registered to prevent a bad actor from acquiring and abusing the domain, known as a defensive registration. These domains are “parked.” In other instances, the domain or subdomain is used exclusively to contain a website with no email service enabled. This document provided general updates to the 2015 document and removed items that are no logner relevant.   (pending Japanese translation update)

This document focuses on domain management. It outlines how to protect brands from threat actors who are keen to register domains that mimic a brand in order to steal information and/or assets. 

This document is not legal advice. M3AAWG strongly suggests that readers work with their company’s legal counsel or avail themselves of independent legal advice regarding their rights, responsibilities and obligations relevant to prevailing legal jurisdictions.

There are a number of scenarios in which senders may be required or compelled to send a bulk message despite the fact that such messages are highly likely to exhibit poor delivery metrics such as increased bounces or complaints. These messages are not intended to be used for standard marketing or transactional notices; these are the exceptions to the rule. Prominent examples of high-risk sends would be items such as breach notifications, product recalls, health and safety notices, or other notifications that might need to be sent to individuals who have been previously been suppressed or unsubscribed.

Received email may not be handled only by a human. It may be partially or even fully handled by a software program. The purpose of this document is to offer guidance to marketing and sales staff about the way that nonhuman interactions (NHI, also known as “automated clicks”) affect the performance metrics of their email messages and reporting systems. This document is not intended to solve issues, but rather to provide insights into the effects of NHI and offer some best practices for senders.