MailBounce Documentation

I. INTRODUCTION

The documentation for MailBounce is extensive, and is organized by topic. Please read the documentation! MailBounce has several configuration and processing options that should be customized for your setup; properly setting these options will help you to get the most out of MailBounce.

The entire documentation set for the most recent release of MailBounce is always available on line at <http://www.mailbounce.com/>.

II. DOCUMENTATION

The standard MailBounce distribution includes extensive documentation, plus other files to help get you started. Here are some of the highlights:

Preferences File: Depending on the distribution that you downloaded, the Preferences file for your platform will have one of three names:

Mac OS (Classic and OS X): "MailBounce Preferences"

Unix (all platforms, including Darwin): ".mailbounce.cf"

Windows (all versions): "MailBounce.ini"

Each MailBounce distribution includes a baseline Preferences file, which you must customize for your specific environment.

MailBounce Quick Tour: A brief summary of MailBounce, including a description of program operation, plus initial configuration instructions. If you are looking for a more detailed description of MailBounce, please refer to the MailBounce Functional Description.

The Diagnostics File: Describes the output that you see on the screen (and in the diagnostics file) during a typical MailBounce run.

Bounce Tracking: A discussion of bounce tracking and the related Preferences settings. MailBounce has some very powerful bounce-tracking capabilities, which are covered in detail here.

The "Ignored" File: Instructions for creating an "Ignored" file, for addresses that you do not want MailBounce to process or remove from your mailing list.

The "Global Remove" File: Instructions for creating a "Global Remove" file, which allows you to specify e-mail addresses that MailBounce should always remove from your mailing list (problem subscribers, list archivers, persistent spammers, etc.).

The "Autoresponder Rejection" File: Instructions for creating an "Autoresponder Rejection" file, which helps prevent MailBounce from writing autoresponder messages into the "Unrecognized Bounces" file.

Configuring Multiple Lists: A detailed description of the "Multiple-List" configuration file, which allows you to process more than one mailing list in a single MailBounce pass. There is also a sample Multi-List Configuration File provided in the "etc" folder.

Upgrading to Pro: Description of MailBounce Pro vs. MailBounce Lite, and instructions for upgrading to MailBounce Pro.

MailBounce License: The obligatory license and legal information.

Platform FAQs: Each distribution comes with a platform-specific FAQ. You should be sure to read through this file, as it deals with issues specifically relating to your OS platform.

ReadMe: This file.

You can also find instructions for submitting bug reports, new server formats, and new bounce formats to Smart Mail Solutions, Inc.:

New Bounce Formats: Instructions for submitting new bounce formats for inclusion in future MailBounce releases.

New List Server Types: Instructions for submitting new list server formats.

Bug Reporting: Instructions for submitting bug reports.

There are two "form letters" enclosed for your use:

Subscriber Alert: A sample form letter that you can optionally send to addresses that MailBounce removes from your mailing list, informing subscribers that they have been removed from the list. This is useful for catching still-active subscribers whose mail servers are incorrectly returning failure codes. The "BCC files" that are generated with each MailBounce run contain all of the addresses that you need to contact.

Postmaster Letter: A sample form letter that you can use when informing postmasters that their bounce formats are inviolation of Internet standards, and/or contain insufficient information.

(The sample form letters are located in the "etc" folder.)

And finally, there is a complete "Example" to help get you started:

MailBounce Example: A folder containing a set of sample MailBounce input/output files, and an example Preferences file that is already configured to run with the sample files. In Unix distributions, the "example" directory is located inside the "etc" directory. Refer to the documentation inside of the folder for details.

III. EXPLANATION OF MAILBOUNCE-RELATED TERMS

The following terms are used throughout the documentation:

MB: MailBounce (okay, that one was easy; we're just building up your confidence at this point). The abbreviation and the full name are used interchangeably.

SA: Setup Assistant.

MailBounce Recognition Engine (MBRE): The "heart" of MailBounce. This is the section of code that "recognizes" and processes mail bounces. (This is also referred to as the "MailBounce Engine.")

DSN: "DSN" is synonymous with "mail bounce"; it stands for Delivery Status Notification. See RFCs 1891 through 1894 (among others) for more information.

NDN: "Non-Delivery Notification." For our purposes, "NDN" is synonymous with "DSN" -- simply put, it's another term for "mail bounce," though it's actually a little more general. (DSNs are a form of NDN that specifically follow the RFCs on DSNs.)

Hard bounce: Fatal bounces -- "550 User unknown" and the like. In short, anything from which you can conclude that you will never deliver mail to that address.

Soft bounce: Transient bounces -- fatal timeout, mailbox full, DNS error, etc.; basically, everything that is not classified as a "hard bounce."

Bounce Threshold or Review Period: This is the period during which a bouncing address must repeatedly bounce before it is declared to be "defunct" and is added to the removal list. For more information on bounce tracking, refer to the Bounce_Tracking file.

IV. DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF MAILBOUNCE

There are three different versions of MailBounce available. The one that you use will depend on your processing requirements, site complexity, and, typically, the size of your mailing list(s):

MailBounce Lite: If you haven't yet registered MailBounce, then you will be using "MailBounce Lite" by default. This version is "freeware," which means you do not have to pay to use it. It does not have all of the features of the other versions -- but you can't beat the price!

MailBounce Pro: If you are running one or more large mailing lists, then you will probably benefit from upgrading to the "Pro" version. MailBounce Pro has several important features that owners of larger mailing lists will find useful -- soft-bounce processing, bounce tracking, fuzzy address matching, "ignored" addresses, multi-list processing, and more. Refer to the "Upgrading to Pro" documentation for more information about the features available in MailBounce Pro.

MailBounce Pro PLUS: If your mailing list is particularly large, then you might need the PLUS version of MailBounce. See the "Upgrading to Pro PLUS" documentation for more information about MailBounce Pro PLUS.

V. INSTALLING MAILBOUNCE

Installing MailBounce is easy -- in fact, it's already installed! All you need is a folder (directory) with a copy of the program and a properly-configured Preferences file. The standard distribution always includes a baseline Prefs file with the application, so you can launch/run the application immediately. Of course, in order for it to do anything meaningful, you will have to customize your Prefs file; refer to the Preferences file documentation for more information on customizing your MailBounce settings.

Multiple Copies of MailBounce ...

You can move your MailBounce application and Prefs file to any folder/directory that you like. If you wish to set up different configurations for different mailing lists, just copy the application and Prefs file to multiple folders/directories and customize each one however you like. You can even run multiple copies of MailBounce at the same time -- though it is recommended that you do this on Mac and Windows systems only if the copies are in different folders. (Unix systems have the option of specifying different .cf files from the command line, and thus do not require different copies of the executable in order to run multiple instances. See the Unix FAQ for more information on this feature.)

VI. STAYING CURRENT ON MAILBOUNCE DISTRIBUTIONS

If you are not already a member of one of our announcement lists, then you should consider joining the announcement list for your platform. Information on new releases, bug fixes, and public betas is distributed via the announcement lists. They are also used as a means of soliciting user feedback when developing new features for MailBounce. The lists are very low volume, averaging one announcement every couple of months.

Downloading MailBounce

You can always pick up the latest version of MailBounce from the MailBounce web site.

If you have any problems accessing the server, feel free to contact us here at Smart Mail Solutions, Inc.

VII. QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, TECH SUPPORT

Questions and comments regarding MailBounce can be directed to Smart Mail Solutions, Inc. Though we'd be happy to help you get up and running with MailBounce, ongoing technical support can be provided to registered customers only. Please see the "Upgrading to Pro" file for more information on registering MailBounce. You do not have to be a registered user to report a bug; please follow the bug-reporting guidelines when reporting bugs to us.

VIII. LEGALESE (the short form)

MailBounce Lite is freeware; you are free to use it and redistribute it for free as much as you like. You may not charge a fee to redistribute MailBounce in any form unless you have previously obtained permission from Smart Mail Solutions, Inc., to do so. MailBounce Pro is commercial software; registration keys may not be distrbuted to third parties without the express written consent of Smart Mail Solutions, Inc. All versions of MailBounce Lite, MailBounce Pro, and MailBounce Pro PLUS are copyrighted and protected by international copyright laws. Please refer to the MailBounce License for detailed licensing information.

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