"Ryan Malayter" <rmalayter(_at_)bai(_dot_)org> writes:
Microsoft is using IronPort's bonded sender program. A company puts up a
cash bond with IronPort saying "I will not spam". The amount is set by
IronPort based on past behavior, reputation, etc. If the sender spams,
the bond money is forfeited *to IronPort*. No money goes to Microsoft at
all. You cannot "pay to spam".
The money actually goes to an independent, disinterested, non-profit
organization. Currently, bond debits go to the Internet Education
Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charity. You can read all about it in the FAQ:
https://www.bondedsender.com/faqs/general.jsp
Disclosure: I recently started working at IronPort as their Anti-Spam
Architect, but putting on my SpamAssassin developer hat, I should note
that we've been successfully using Bonded Sender as a whitelist rule
since August, 2002 (long before I had even met anyone from IronPort and
someone else the rule anyway).
Daniel
--
Daniel Quinlan
http://www.pathname.com/~quinlan/