spf-discuss
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Re: [spf-discuss] Senderside forwarder-problem mitigation

2009-07-09 09:50:37
On Wed, 8 Jul 2009, Stuart D. Gathman wrote:
V-SPF is a Receiver Policy helpfully provided by the Sender (RPS).  SPFv1,
on the other hand, is a Sender Policy Framework.  I see big technical
problems with V-SPF/RPS due the fact that senders can't possibly know
all the implementation details and company policies of all potential
receivers.

I agree with you that G-SPF is the better protocol.  But that's not the
argument.

The problem is that, like Microsoft SenderID, V-SPF is compromising the
effectiveness of G-SPF by leading senders to be timid in their SPF records.

And V-SPF is worse than SenderID in practice.  Because we've been shouting
them down from the start, there are not likely many receivers who apply
v=spf1 records to PRA.  Yet even today, some people on this very forum appear
to believe that V-SPF is the correct protocol, and G-SPF is the heresy.

Unfortunately, we're probably not going to really heal this mess until
v=spf3....  The root of the problem was the belief that traditional
forwarders would quickly die, making the distinction irrelevant.  That was
quite arrogant in retrospect.

And I see legal problems: what if a receiver doesn't execute the
V-SPF/RPS policy exactly?

No legal force backs either V-SPF or G-SPF.  The worst that can happen is
that the receiver gets blacklisted for emitting backscatter that should have
been stopped cold by V-SPF fail.

But since backscatterer.org already pounces on <> mails to spamtraps with
every possible SPF status except pass, that would make no difference.

---- Michael Deutschmann <michael(_at_)talamasca(_dot_)ocis(_dot_)net>


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