Email: Is "SPF_SOFTFAIL" a Serious Problem?

[pintwin173]

Seems I can receive emails but some people report they didn't get email I sent. In addition, some websites whose comment boards require an email address have marked my comments as "Detected as Spam", and they're either rejected or future comments banned

Using a popular email testing tool (mail-tester.com) returns this result:

--> You are not allowed to use your sender email addresses

SPF_SOFTFAIL SPF: Sender does not match SPF record (softfail) ​

[SPF] unsolicited.elementfx.com does not allow your server 198.91.80.251 to use
maildrop@unsolicited.elementfx.com or
sitemaster@unsolicited.elementfx.com

What we retained as your current SPF record is:

v=spf1 a mx ip4:198.91.81.13 ~all​

It should be changed to:

v=spf1 a mx ip4:198.91.81.13 ip4:198.91.80.251 ~all
​

The Name Server handling the domain name unsolicited.elementfx.com is ns2.x10hosting.com.

unsolicited.elementfx.com: Sender is not authorized by default to use 'maildrop@unsolicited.elementfx.com' in 'mfrom' identity, however domain is not currently prepared for false failures (mechanism '~all' matched)
​

I have no idea if this is a problem, any help you could provide would be appreciated.

As always, thanks in advance for your help.

Regards, Pintwin173

 

[Anna]

Softfail can be a problem, as the mails may end up in spam at the recipients.

The second IP as suggested to be added to the SPF record would be our outgoing mailserver, so it is not a bad idea to change to the suggested option.

I'll check with admins if this is something we can set as default instead of only the actual server IP the account is on.

 

[Eric S]

I will look into this further shortly and provide an update as soon as I can! I believe it may be a mix of two issues going on but we should be able to resolve at least one of them.

 

[pintwin173]

Thanks, I know you're all busier than one-legged butt kickers and appreciate any help you can give

 

[pintwin173]

Bump.

Also, this has come to my attention:

--> You do not have a DMARC record

A DMARC policy allows a sender to indicate that their emails are protected by SPF and/or DKIM, and give instruction if neither of those authentication methods passes. Please be sure you have a DKIM and SPF set before using DMARC.

You do not have a DMARC record, please add a TXT record to your domain _dmarc.unsolicited.elementfx.com with the following value:

v=DMARC1; p=none​

Note my Email Accounts page indicates DKIM is enabled, I've no idea if SPF is enabled, available, or even needed.

Regards, Pintwin173

 

[pintwin173]

FYI: Here are some examples of websites marking my comments as "Spam" or "Removed" as suspicious:


Note I've already checked if my email addresses have been blacklisted: They have not.

Thanks.

 

[pintwin173]

Bump.

Just want to keep this from falling through the electronic cracks

 

[pintwin173]

Bump.

Just want to keep this from falling through the electronic cracks

 

[Anna]

@Eric S User is awaiting your reply

 

[Eric S]

Bump.

Just want to keep this from falling through the electronic cracks

I will be looking into this this afternoon and hope to provide an update then.

 

[pintwin173]

No worries, just wanted to check on progress, I know you people are busy.

Thanks in advance!

 

[pintwin173]

Bumpity Bump Bump

 

[Eric S]

Bumpity Bump Bump

This has been a crazy month for us at x10 with launching some new stuff within free and our projects going on over on premium. I do apologize no real excuses other wise. I have this on my to-do list by the end of the week to either attempt to resolve this or provide a workaround solution if one is available. My last attempt failed as I am personally not familiar with the setting however doing a little more research I may be able to come up with a resolution for us.

 

[pintwin173]

Any update?

 

[Eric S]

Any update?

I do apologize no update as our team has been working on migrations to new hardware along with other updates for our hosting.