What is a Yahoo FBL and how do I set one up?
Summary
What email marketers say11Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Stackoverflow details that processing AFRF reports involves parsing the incoming emails, extracting the user's email address who marked the message as spam, and adding them to your suppression list.
Email marketer from SocketLabs shares how DKIM confirms the authenticity of emails from your domain.
Email marketer from Reddit explains that setting up DKIM is a prerequisite for FBL registration with Yahoo, as it verifies that the email is actually coming from your domain.
Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that FBLs won't tell you why you're seeing bounces; bounce messages provide more insight and guide next steps, which may involve contacting the postmaster team. FBLs offer insight into email health before issues arise.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that if you're sending through an ESP, you don't need to sign up for FBLs as they manage it. However, if sending directly from your own infrastructure, FBLs are a necessary consideration.
Email marketer from Return Path explains that a key benefit of FBLs is they provide insight into why some emails are marked as spam, allowing senders to adjust their practices and improve overall deliverability.
Email marketer from SparkPost shares that if you are using an ESP like SparkPost, you don't need to set up FBLs yourself, as this is already handled by the ESP.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that Yahoo requires a certain volume of email sent per month before they will consider enabling an FBL for your domain.
Email marketer from Mailjet explains that one of the key functions of FBLs are to allow you to monitor and improve your sending reputation by quickly identifying and removing subscribers who mark your emails as spam.
Email marketer from EmailDeliverabilityForum.com notes that Yahoo and AOL use the same FBL system, so registering with one typically covers both.
Email marketer from GMass shares the importance of setting up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records so your emails aren't bounced due to the new Yahoo requirements.
What the experts say5Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks shares that Yahoo often gives TS04 deferrals or blocks due to complaints, even to mostly-good senders.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that setting up a FBL involves technical aspects like DKIM signing and AFRF processing, requiring IT support. It's critical for senders to understand their role in preventing spam to effectively utilize FBL data.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that a FBL means you get an email when someone at an ISP, where Yahoo controls the email client, hits the “this is spam” button. This allows you to measure email reception, identify bad sources, and remove unwanted recipients. The work involves DKIM signing, registering the signature with Yahoo, identifying the recipient's email address, setting up a system to pull the token from Yahoo's email, and creating reports.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that SFMC typically covers FBL processing, but Yahoo might require a manual setup step depending on your configuration. Also notes you have to be able to receive mail at postmaster@domain.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that to be able to set up feedback loops (including at Yahoo), you will likely require a certain volume level, or complaint ratio. This is because the ISPs need to ensure there is a justifiable reason to expose complaint data.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from Validity details that registering for the Yahoo FBL involves ensuring your mail is DKIM signed, setting up a system to receive and process FBL reports (typically Abuse Feedback Reporting Format - AFRF), and managing suppression lists based on the complaints received.
Documentation from RFC Editor explains that AFRF (Abuse Feedback Reporting Format) is a standardized format for reporting email abuse, which is often used by FBL systems to provide feedback to senders.
Documentation from Yahoo Help Central shares that to setup a Yahoo FBL, you must DKIM-sign your mail, register the DKIM signature with Yahoo, ensure you can identify the recipient, and set up a way to process the feedback received from Yahoo to suppress addresses.
Documentation from Yahoo Help Central explains that a Feedback Loop (FBL) is a system where Yahoo Mail forwards complaints about spam to the original sender. This enables senders to identify and remove users who mark their emails as spam.