Feedback Loops (FBL)
Feedback Loops (FBLs) provide the means for an Email Service Provider (e.g. AOL, Yahoo, etc) to forward complaints back to the sender for data hygiene purposes.
When a User marks an email as Spam or junk the service provider (e.g. Yahoo webmail, AOL webmail, etc.) sends an email to the address that was specified during the initial Feedback Loop registration.
Upon receipt of the complaint the application determines the recipient and globally opts the User out to prevent any further correspondence.
Typical Feedback Loops are registered using sender IP address; once an IP address has an FBL registered, all mail sent via that particular IP address is covered.
The exception is Yahoo, who require an FBL to be registered for each particular sending domain used to deliver email.
Common Questions
Do I need to do anything to configure my Feedback Loops?
When provisioning your service, Feedback Loops are automatically registered for the following ESPs:
- AOL
- MSN (Hotmail, Outlook, Live, etc)
- Comcast
- BlueTie
- RoadRunner
- RackSpace
- Cox
- OpenSRS (Hostedmail / Tucows)
- Usa.net
- Synacor
- FastMail
Yahoo operate differently and require that an FBL request is made for each sending domain, so it isn't possible to automate the registration procedure. Therefore, each time a new sending domain is authenticated within the application you will need to register an FBL with Yahoo.
What about Gmail?
Google do not operate a traditional Feedback Loop like the other large ESPs. Instead they provide support for a feature called List-Unsubscribe.
When Gmail displays an email that supports List-Unsubscribe, they provide Users with an option to "Unsubscribe from this sender". When a User follows the link, Google informs the sender that the User wishes to be opted out of future correspondence.
The application supports List-Unsubscribe without any additional configuration required.
Any Users wishing to unsubscribe are treated the same as a Feedback Loop complaint and are opted out globally.
I have found a new Feedback Loop, can I use it?
The list above covers all of the major Email Service Providers, however, if you have found an FBL not mentioned on the list above please contact the support team with details and they will provide further assistance.