Spam Eating Monkey SEM-URI is a domain-based blacklist that lists URIs and domains discovered in emails sent to spam traps, with entries on this blocklist automatically expiring after 30 days of inactivity.
The Spam Eating Monkey SEM-URI is a domain-based blocklist (URIBL) that lists domain names and URIs found within the content of emails sent to a network of spam traps. When a message hits one of these traps, any domains found in the message body or headers are added to this specific blacklist.
Technically, its query zone is uribl.spameatingmonkey.net and a positive response (indicating a listing) is 127.0.0.2. An important feature of this blocklist is its automatic expiration policy. Entries are removed 30 days after they were last seen by a spamtrap, meaning listings for domains that are no longer sending spam will eventually resolve themselves.
Listings can also be policy-based. According to Spam Eating Monkey, this can include domains that are:
The SEM-URI blacklist is operated by SpamEatingMonkey.com, an organization that provides real-time reputation information for IP addresses and domains. Their goal is to help system administrators prevent the delivery of unwanted mail.
Spam Eating Monkey makes a key distinction about their role. They state that they do not block anyone's mail directly. Instead, they publish reputation data. It is the administrator of the recipient's mail server who chooses to use this data and, at their discretion, block or filter mail based on a listing. All data is provided 'as is' without warranty.
Before requesting removal from any blacklist (or blocklist), you must first identify and resolve the issue that caused your domain to be listed. This might involve cleaning your mailing list, fixing insecure forms that spammers are exploiting, or addressing poor sending practices. If you do not fix the root cause, your domain will likely be listed again.
Once you have fixed the problem, you can request delisting. Spam Eating Monkey provides a lookup tool on their website. If your domain is listed, you will find an option to request removal. According to their policy, removal requests are reviewed and processed within 24 hours. Keep in mind that a denial of your request is still considered a processed request, and it likely means you have not fully addressed the underlying issue.
The impact of being listed on the Spam Eating Monkey SEM-URI blocklist is generally considered low. It is not used by major mailbox providers like Google or Microsoft, but it may be used by smaller organizations or individual system administrators to filter incoming email.
Crucially, Spam Eating Monkey's official policy states that their data should only be used in scoring systems, not for outright blocking of mail. For example, their own documentation for SpamAssassin integration suggests a score of just 0.5 for a listing, which is a very low value that is unlikely to cause a block on its own. Therefore, a listing on this blacklist might contribute to a higher overall spam score but is unlikely to be the sole cause of a delivery failure.
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