Can't send email to a specific address

March 8, 2004 9:29 AM

mac/entourage prob: there's an email address that I cannot send to. Whenever I try and send something to it I get a msg: "Relay Access Denied". I have no probs with any other addresses. The address is for a discussion list and is [e-mail] (of course just replacing the letters with ex's as it's probably poor to post the address here). Any ideas why it won't let me send? (It's not bouncing back, it won't leave my outbox). I receive emails from this address no prob.
posted by dobbs to Computers & Internet (3 answers total)

It's probably related to the host/server you send mail through. The mailling list server probably has a restrictive anti-spam filter using some RBL (blacklist) that your mail server's IP address or range belongs to. The way to test is to telnet to the mailling list servers port 25 and look for more detailed errors.

Your ip can get added to these rbls for running as open relays, having unpacked software, and sometimes just because you are using dialup.
posted by dirtylittlemonkey at 9:39 AM on March 8, 2004

Response by poster: Thanks, monkey.
posted by dobbs at 11:29 AM on March 8, 2004

Most mail servers do not let you send e-mail through them. Obviously if it let you send e-mail through them 'anonymously' then any 2-bit spammer could do the same.

Normally the only mail servers that let you send e-mail are the ones your ISP supplies (eg the company that supplies your ADSL or dialup connection), because they know who you are.
posted by derbs at 5:08 PM on March 8, 2004