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Why do SCL scores vary for the same email sent to different O365 accounts?

Summary

The variability of Spam Confidence Level (SCL) scores for the same email sent to different Office 365 (O365) accounts is a common challenge for email senders. While an email might receive a low SCL score (e.g., 1, indicating safe mail) for one O365 recipient, it could be flagged with a high SCL score (e.g., 5 or 9, indicating spam or junk) for another. This inconsistency suggests that Microsoft's filtering mechanisms are not solely based on a universal, static assessment of the email content or sender reputation, but also on dynamic, tenant-specific, or even user-specific factors.

What email marketers say

Email marketers often encounter perplexing situations where the same email yields wildly different SCL scores across various Office 365 accounts. This can make troubleshooting inbox placement challenging, as what appears to be a perfectly compliant email on one test might land in the junk folder for another. Marketers speculate on the role of individual user settings, organizational policies, and the dynamic nature of Microsoft's filtering algorithms in these inconsistencies. The primary concern revolves around identifying the root cause when standard sender reputation checks don't reveal obvious issues.

Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks observes that despite sending the exact same email, SCL scores vary significantly across different O365 accounts. They noted scores ranging from 5 to 9 (spam) for some, while others received a clean SCL of 1. This inconsistency is perplexing, especially since their internal analytics show no signs of bulking issues on their end. The marketer suspects a routing problem or unique configurations on the receiving O365 side might be at play.

18 Jun 2019 - Email Geeks

Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks mentioned they initially thought SCL scores were solely determined by cloud-sourced filtering, independent of user or administrative settings. This perspective makes the observed SCL variations even more confusing when testing to O365 accounts. They are now reconsidering this assumption, planning further research into how administrative or tenant-specific settings might influence SCL outcomes. The challenge is compounded by the fact that their managed service provider reports consistent scores, which they cannot replicate.

18 Jun 2019 - Email Geeks

What the experts say

Experts in email deliverability confirm that SCL scores in Office 365 are indeed dynamic and can vary for the same email. They point to the sophisticated nature of Microsoft's filtering, which incorporates not only global reputation metrics but also tenant-specific configurations and feedback loops from end-users. The consensus is that SCL scores reflect a complex interplay of factors, making direct comparison between different O365 environments challenging due to their potentially unique filtering thresholds and historical interactions.

Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks, steve589, emphasizes checking BCL or PCL scores, as they are used in threshold scoring by O365 to mark emails as spam and set SCL to 9. This underscores that SCL is not just about content or direct sender reputation, but also about the reputation associated with bulk sending or phishing likelihood. Administrators can also manually assign an SCL of 9, adding another layer of variability independent of the email's intrinsic quality.

18 Jun 2019 - Email Geeks

Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks, tvjames, suggests that SCL ratings for O365 are conceivably company-specific. This means if employees within one O365 instance are more prone to flagging emails as spam or junk, their collective feedback could elevate the SCL for that company. This highlights the influence of internal user behavior on filtering, making deliverability a more localized challenge than a broad one for senders targeting Microsoft platforms.

18 Jun 2019 - Email Geeks

What the documentation says

Official Microsoft documentation and related resources confirm that SCL (Spam Confidence Level) is a dynamic score within Exchange Online Protection (EOP), Microsoft 365's built-in email filtering service. These sources explain that SCL is influenced by multiple factors, including Bulk Complaint Level (BCL), phishing detection, and tenant-specific policies. The documentation clarifies that while a baseline SCL is calculated, the final action taken on an email (e.g., delivered to inbox, junk folder, or quarantined) can be customized by O365 administrators through mail flow rules and anti-spam policies, leading to the observed variations.

Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft Learn defines the Spam Confidence Level (SCL) as an indicator of an email's likelihood of being spam. It outlines that SCL values typically range from -1 to 9, where -1 denotes a safe sender, and higher positive values (e.g., 5 or 9) signify increasing levels of spam confidence. This foundational understanding reveals that the SCL is Microsoft's internal grading system, which is then used by administrators to decide the action for an email within their O365 environment, leading to potential variations.

10 Jan 2024 - Microsoft Learn

Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft Learn on junk email versus bulk email clarifies that the purpose is to explain the difference and provide options available in Exchange Online and EOP. It highlights that Bulk Complaint Level (BCL) and Phishing Confidence Level (PCL) scores play a role in threshold scoring, potentially setting an SCL to 9. This confirms that SCL is influenced by reputation metrics beyond just content, and these metrics can vary depending on the specific tenant's interaction history with the sender.

10 Jan 2024 - Microsoft Learn

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