SORBS sucks!

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been using the SORBS DNS blacklist on my mail server, to replace some of the blacklists which have gone out of service recently. I found out today that using that blacklist has blocked a fair few legitimate emails (including messages from Amazon and Play USA

Examining their site a bit closer, it looks like they’ll only remove some entries if they receive a donation of $50, which seems a bit extreme to me. I found that they have also listed the ISP I used to work for and Freeserve

So I won’t be using that list again. Sorry if anyone sent me mail which got bounced.

17 thoughts on “SORBS sucks!”

  1. you actually signed up for sorbs? i’ve just been blacklisted by them – despite the IP address they’re blacklisting is not mine – for an email which was apparently sent by not me, two hours after the last email i sent or received that day.

    and from what i’ve read about them in the last two hours, this is something they do very happily. i’m all for charities, but only the ones i support, thank you very much!

  2. I didn’t sign up as such, just used their blacklist on my mail server. But as you found, there’s all sorts of stuff listed which probably shouldn’t be any more. And asking for payment to remove could be considered blackmail by some people.

    There are quite a few other (better) blacklists out there so I’ve switched to using those instead.

  3. Yes I’ve been blocked by that stupid SORBS.
    My crime, my ISP uses Dynamic IP’s. So SORBS has used Dynablock on me! Some one should send them a package in the mail!

  4. Out of the clear blue this morning, my email to the president of an association of which I am the Treasurer (and email to her ISP) is blocked. The long technical explanations SORBS gives on their site baffles non-tech me.

  5. The new liberal Air America Radio has apparently signed up with the full SORBS service. I tried to send an e-mail to them and because I have a comcast cable modem, I am shut out as a spammer, because once upon a time a comcast e-mail server was improperly configured, according to SORBS. SORBS is a brilliant idea – if you’re smoking crack.

  6. I recently started using SORBS.net to block spam and no legitimate eMail is getting blocked for me.

    My spam levels, however, have been reduced drastically — instead of getting more than 150 spams a day I now get less than 20.

    I think SORBS.net is great, and all you crybabies need to whine to your ISPs to clean up their act and get de-listed (or find a better ISP). Oh, and by the way, SORBS.net doesn’t charge money to de-list someone, so my guess is that you are a spammer trying to discredit blacklists.

  7. “Delisting if the netblock is expanded, delisting is only performed when the spammer is nolonger using the address space, in which case the netblock will be reduced down to the affected IPs free of charge. The effected IPs (the ones used to send the spam) will only be delisted when US$50 is donated to a SORBS nominated charity or good cause. The charities and good causes SORBS approves will not have any connection with any member of the SORBS administrators either past or present.”

    That’s from http://www.dnsbl.nl.sorbs.net/Overview.html .

    I doubt any of the above posters are spammers. Unlike you, Randolf, they used their email addresses when posting (I still know you’re using Shaw High-Speed Internet though). I’m sure you’re in no way connected with SORBS, and I’m glad you’re happy with their service. I just hope you don’t miss anything important because of their over-zealous listing policy.

  8. Randolf,

    You’re a stupid idiot. Take 2 minutes and read their policy on their website. Sorbs
    is in the business to make money for themselves and use obsolete techniques(spamtraps) to “determine” who is a “spammer”. I will be boycotting
    Sorbus and encourage anyone else to do the same.

    Also see:
    http://www.natesimpson.com/blog/archives/2004/10/07/sorbs-sucks/
    http://www.lazyllama.com/blog/archives/2004/01/23/sorbs-sucks
    http://www.classy.dk/log/archive/001850.html
    http://silverstr.ufies.org/blog/archives/000703.html
    or
    http://www.google.com/search?q=sorbs+sucks&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

  9. I looked into SORBs, after 3 weeks i gave up, its complete rubbish compared to other RBLs. If you want more spam and errors. Use SORBS it sucks.

  10. To quote Joey at SORBS on 11/29/2008

    I wrote:
    “Your business practices are defeating your purpose. I am an ISP look it up on ARIN’s web site. Scan my servers, I am not paying your fine just so you can find some other SPAM that slipped through and fine me again. This is not a realistic practice.”

    Joey Western at SORBS wrote the following in two separate emails blaming me for sending SPAM. My servers conform and have conformed to the latest popular configurations including SPF. I use DNSStuff.com to maintain a check on DNS and my email system. Keep in mind I opened a ticked asking for help with de-listing and stating that I thought the $50 find to donain was unethical and poor business practice. You can’t force people to donate money, what is the other word for that? It starts with a B….

    “These are the 2 headers from the spam you sent us that we are obviously to blame for right ? How about taking responsibility for your own problems and quite blaming SORBS the recipients of your rubbish .”

    “SORBS does not have business practices , SORBS is not a Business it is a free service operated by volunteers. Our purpose is not self defeating”

  11. I used SORBS for two months as a RBL and it was painfull. My servers were working their a**es off scanning and dumping mail and nothing was getting through. There are many misconfigured email systems out there such as howardhanna.com (don’t do a header check on them) and many others. These folks need to tighten things up, but SORBS is out to get everyone that thinks of spam. I bet if I opened a can of Spam my mail servers would be blocked.

    I was also listed in dynamic IP space and had a static block allocated to be via AT&T. Everything was fine for years until SORBS changed the rules and started blocking everything they felt didn’t look right. They are trying to be a regulatory entity but they want to work alone and play by their own rules that can change at any time. This type of dictatorship doesn’t work, hasn’t worked and will never work.

    The best we all can do is use legit RBL services, make sure our mail servers are configured to a reasonable standard and stay away from the disgusting practices employed by SORBS.

    Even if you try to be nice and work with them they come down on you like you wrote the virus that is sending millions of SPAM around the world. If they actually took measures to address the source of the problem I think they would be doing a good thing, however the choose to address the symptoms and not the root cause. Why should I donate $50 on behalf of a spammer, virus author, or someone who forged headers to look like they came from my mail system. They can’t prove anything to warrant demanding donations for de-listing. They need a serious lession in ethics and then they need to go away.

    Obviously I don’t use SORBS and I completely openly recommend others do not use SORBS.

    SORBS is not good people. Not good people at all.

  12. It’s August 20, 2010 and I just got blacklisted by SORBS. I never even heard of them until my email got rejected and it said I’ve been blacklisted. I’m just an individual and I’m unemployed and I was trying to contact an employer thru email. How can something like this exist? I’m shocked that something like this can even happen. Someone in the government needs to step in and shut these jerks down. HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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