Topic: Dmarc

Pastor Bob Newell is dubbed "Sir Robert of Penfield" after a $350 donation and a note about his history with IBM 360 punch cards. The segment includes "de-douching" first-time donors and a technical discussion regarding DMARC and SPF record errors in the show's newsletter. Baby-making karma is granted to several producers.

Technical difficulties with the No Agenda newsletter led to high unsubscribe rates after an emergency plain-text email was sent from a personal address. The discussion covers the complexities of email deliverability, including the "toll" paid to whitelisting services and the necessity of proper DMARC, SPF, and DKIM settings. Experts like Void Zero are cited as potential resources for fixing these authentication issues.

The No Agenda newsletter faced significant delivery issues, with many subscribers using Apple Mail and Gmail reporting that they did not receive the latest update. The hosts discuss technical causes such as DMARC record tightening and aggressive spam filtering by major tech platforms, recommending ProtonMail as a more reliable alternative.

The implementation of DMARC, SPF, and DKIM records has changed how email verification works, specifically impacting the ability to send mail from third-party aliases through Gmail. While these protocols combat spoofing, they also force users to maintain active accounts on the originating servers to ensure delivery. Recent certificate authority expirations on May 30th have further complicated global email and web traffic.

The hosts investigate why some subscribers are not receiving the show's newsletter, identifying Google's strict DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) policies as a likely cause. They discuss technical workflows for verifying email delivery and sorting user feedback.