RoadRunner's email deliverability challenges, even for reputable senders, arise from a combination of strict filtering policies, technical issues, and sender practices. RoadRunner, like many ISPs, emphasizes email authentication, sender reputation, and list hygiene. Technical issues include temporary server unavailability (indicated by SMTP 4xx errors), MX record problems, and greylisting. Poor data collection, unpruned dead addresses, and a lack of clear opt-in can negatively impact deliverability. Senders should ensure proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), maintain clean and engaged lists by removing inactive subscribers and complainers, monitor and manage their sender reputation using tools like Sender Score, and participate in feedback loops to address spam complaints. Contacting Proofpoint, which RoadRunner uses for filtering, can also be beneficial.
11 marketer opinions
RoadRunner (Spectrum) is known for strict email filtering, making deliverability challenging even for reputable senders. This is often due to aggressive spam filters, strict email authentication, and the residential nature of their user base. Issues stem from hitting spam traps, poor list hygiene, sudden volume increases, blacklisting, poor sender reputation, or content triggering filters. Solutions include contacting Proofpoint, which RoadRunner uses, proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), list segmentation and cleaning, warming up IP addresses, monitoring bounce rates, checking domain reputation, and adhering to Proofpoint's best practices.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Reddit shares that they've had success by ensuring their sending domain has a clean reputation and warming up their IP address gradually. They also suggest monitoring bounce rates closely.
6 Jun 2022 - Reddit
Marketer view
Email marketer from Mailjet Blog shares that RoadRunner and other cable providers often have aggressive spam filters due to the residential nature of their user base. Senders should ensure proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), maintain low complaint rates, and segment their lists effectively.
23 Aug 2022 - Mailjet Blog
7 expert opinions
RoadRunner's email deferrals and rejections for reputable senders often stem from technical issues, sender reputation, and list management problems. '[internal]' bounces may indicate MX record issues. Rejections can signal specific blocks. Problems can be attributed to poor data collection, unpruned dead addresses, and signals indicating non-opt-in emails. RoadRunner prioritizes email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC). Maintaining a clean, engaged list by removing inactive users and complainers reduces bounce rates and complaints. Sender reputation significantly influences filtering, necessitating monitoring through tools like Sender Score. Participating in feedback loops helps identify and remove subscribers marking emails as spam.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks suggests there are significant problems with that sender’s data collection and management. There are a lot of dead addresses that haven’t been pruned when the rr.com domains were deprecated years ago and there are a lot of other signals telling cloudmark that these emails are likely not opt-in.
1 Jun 2024 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Spamresource.com explains that RoadRunner, like many ISPs, places a strong emphasis on email authentication. Senders experiencing issues should ensure they have properly configured SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. They also advise checking for any misconfigurations or errors in these records.
28 Aug 2021 - Spamresource.com
5 technical articles
RoadRunner deferrals and rejections can arise from various technical and policy-related factors. SMTP 4xx codes, like 421, indicate temporary service unavailability due to overload or maintenance. Deferrals can also result from network issues, server overload, or greylisting. Being blocklisted by services like Spamhaus can cause deliverability problems. Implementing DMARC helps control unauthenticated emails and prevent spoofing, enhancing deliverability. Following bulk sender best practices, including authentication, list management, and feedback loop monitoring, is crucial for all ISPs, including RoadRunner.
Technical article
Documentation from Microsoft Docs explains that deferrals can occur when a receiving server is temporarily unable to accept mail. This can be due to network issues, server overload, or greylisting techniques employed by the recipient.
11 Aug 2022 - Microsoft Docs
Technical article
Documentation from Spamhaus explains that senders can use their blocklist lookup tool to check if their sending IP or domain is listed. Being on a blocklist can cause deliverability issues with various ISPs, including RoadRunner.
31 Oct 2021 - Spamhaus
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