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by j6zauas4gz 911 days ago
Not the person you are replying to, but I've been self hosting an email server for ~3 years (which is not that long tbh, so take this data point for what it is), and have similerly also had almost zero deliverability issues.

I can tell because I also run a mailman mailing list (~500 people) on that same server and domain, I measure initiall discoverability by how many bounces I get (almost always none) and also that the high percentage of read receipts I get, and the fact that engagement with the list is pretty even across domains (IE, people with gmail, outlook, yahoo, and aol emails all frequently read and engage with the list).
1 comments
baobabKoodaa 911 days ago
Interesting! Can you share the numbers for read receipts and "engagement" for different domains? I'm very surprised if the % for gmail and outlook truly is not lower than the % for yahoo and aol, as you indicated.
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j6zauas4gz 911 days ago
I'd have to do some digging since its been a while since I've sent out a newsletter (the only thing I use the tracking pixel on to check read recepts) but IIRC a little under half of the list pinged the server with the pixel . Which seems about right to me, esp given that some clients block tracking pixels.

> I'm very surprised if the % for gmail and outlook truly is not lower than the % for yahoo and aol, as you indicated.

the distribution of domains is far from even, but I can tell by checking my inbox from today that one of our most frequent posters with an aol domain sent a news article around and it started a thread with multiple gmail users chatting with the original poster about it.

Thats not hard numbers, but everyone on the list has agreed that the list works better on the self hosted server then it did on google groups.

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baobabKoodaa 911 days ago
> the distribution of domains is far from even

This might be indicative of deliverability issues affecting some domains only.

The fact that some gmail users can see emails doesn't mean 100% of gmail users are delivered your email.

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j6zauas4gz 911 days ago
> This might be indicative of deliverability issues affecting some domains only.

I mean maybe? I remember when we switched from google groups that I checked and the % of opens and that it seemed fairly evenly distributed given that the percentage of gmail users far outweighs the percentage of yahoo/aol users, and to be honest I've not bothered to check much more beyond that point. But the core group of crotchety old folks who frequently send round interesting local stories are a decent mix. The last couple of days I see 4 different gmail accounts, one work domain (that I assume is outlook but might be some other provider), the aforementioned aol account, and the burner riseup account that I use when I am feeling crotchety.

> The fact that some gmail users can see emails doesn't mean 100% of gmail users are delivered your email.

Sure, its possible but I've not seen any evidence of it after we made the transition. I've seen email sent from gmail accounts to gmail accounts not get delivered, expecting 100% is never going to be realistic even with the largest mail providers.

Unless and until I start getting in person complaints (which, trust me, I would if there was a problem) or see people mention emails going into spam, I'm going to keep on keeping on.

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baobabKoodaa 911 days ago
Can I sign up to your mailing list as a test?
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