Email approval forms
At the last AAC meeting, we heard about some email approval forms libraries have been receiving in response to emailed notices. These aren't actually bounced notices, but do arrive in the same place, and around the same time as the bounced email notices. The forms are coming from Earthlink and PeoplePC and request that libraries fill out a form to be "approved" by the patron.
Here's a sample:
Here is our recommendation. While you may choose to fill out the form for a specific patron's email account, it's likely that every library sending a notice to that patron will also have to fill out the form. Since the patron has requested emailed notices, it should be the patron's responsibility to ensure that our emails are on their approved list, rather than our responsibility to fill out these forms. We'd recommend considering this a bounced email, and asking the patron to add emails from the domains mail.owls.lib.wi.us and mail.nfls.lib.wi.us to their approved list. If you receive this form more than once, than you may choose to turn off email notices for this patron.
As always, please note putes on the patron's record so that others viewing the record will know what has happened.
Here's a sample:
I talked with Earthlink about these forms, and they explained this is an optional service customers may sign up for, in which all incoming emails are screened (until the individual customer approves of the sender.) They cannot put OWLSnet emails on a global "always allowed" list, because no such list exists.
I apologize for this automatic reply to your email.
To control spam, I now allow incoming messages only from senders I have approved beforehand.
It you would like to be added to my list of approved senders, please fill out the short request form (see link below.) Once I approve you, I will receive your original message in my inbox. You do not need to resend your message. I apologize for this one-time inconvenience.
Click the link below to fill out the request:
Here is our recommendation. While you may choose to fill out the form for a specific patron's email account, it's likely that every library sending a notice to that patron will also have to fill out the form. Since the patron has requested emailed notices, it should be the patron's responsibility to ensure that our emails are on their approved list, rather than our responsibility to fill out these forms. We'd recommend considering this a bounced email, and asking the patron to add emails from the domains mail.owls.lib.wi.us and mail.nfls.lib.wi.us to their approved list. If you receive this form more than once, than you may choose to turn off email notices for this patron.
As always, please note putes on the patron's record so that others viewing the record will know what has happened.
