Sorry for lack of quoting.... seems like quite a tangle indeed! Is there
a decent reference to what scenarios result in these various statuses? I
think I've got a good grasp of PASS, FAIL, and NONE. But I'm not as
clear what leads to NEUTRAL or SOFTFAIL.
But, to me, in much plainer English than I've been reading so far (wow),
this what these terms mean to me:
NONE No advice
NEUTRAL Can't say, but I had a lead (e.g. include failed)
SOFTFAIL <<no idea on this one>>
FAIL Shred it now... don't open it.
PASS We'll vouch for it, but follow best practices anyway.
From my standpoint SPF is much like the other scans we put mail
through. We scan for negative results, not positive. And to me, the only
two statuses that seem to be able to assert anything in the affirmative
are FAIL and *possibly* SOFTFAIL. The rest give some assurance, but
aren't the final word on the subject... which is probably why there's so
much difficulty pinning down the meaning. In the end SPF will not
eliminate the need for other checks, but strives to give us another tool
in the battle.
Anyway... that's just my $0.02.
Bill