:::info
This article covers emails flagged as SPAM by the **GINERNET relay**. If your emails are flagged as SPAM **by the recipient**, check this other article instead: [My emails arrive as SPAM](../hosting/emails-llegan-como-spam).
:::

At GINERNET we run a relay service on our shared hosting and on some managed VPS whose job is to perform an **antispam check on outgoing emails**.

This is especially useful when a customer's website has been hacked and **the attacker uses it to send SPAM**: this way **we block those emails**.

Occasionally, **a legitimate email may be flagged as SPAM by mistake**, which is known as a **false positive**. In this article we show you how to fix it.

## How to read the bounce

When the relay flags an email as SPAM, you receive a bounce message telling you it was not delivered. Inside it you will find something like this:

![Email bounced by the antispam relay](/api/help/media/2aac82b2-7362-42b6-bae8-a0fec3f48c13)

The report has 4 sections you should look at:

![Sections of the relay antispam report](/api/help/media/1a07a970-4d7e-4e64-b9cf-6a15da7a1017)

- **In red:** the total antispam score. Any value above 4 causes the email to be flagged as SPAM.
- **In orange:** the names of all the rules that matched.
- **In blue:** the individual score of each rule.
- **In green:** a short explanation. [More detailed explanations are available here](http://relay.ginernet.com/scores.html).

## A real example

In the example image, 4 rules add up to a score of 7 (the maximum allowed is 4):

- **BAYES_50.** A Bayesian filter rule: it estimates a 50% chance the email is SPAM based on the subject and body. 50% is not much, so it only adds 0.8 points. *Not a real fault; it barely affects the score.*
- **HTML_MIME_NO_HTML_TAG.** The email was sent as HTML but without proper HTML tags. This is caused by the program used to send the email; we recommend updating it. *Medium-level fault: worth fixing so recipients do not flag the email as SPAM.*
- **MIME_HTML_ONLY.** The email was sent as HTML without a plain-text version (it should send `Content-Type: multipart/alternative;`). Also caused by the sending program; we recommend updating it. *Medium-level fault.*
- **SPF_NONE.** The sender's domain has no SPF record. SPF is added automatically when a hosting account is created and legitimises the sender; an email without SPF is very likely from a spammer. *Critical fault: an email should never be sent like this*, which is why it adds 4 points at once. Even if our relay had not blocked it, the recipient would probably have flagged it as SPAM and the server's reputation would have suffered.

## Email content matters

- **Do not write the subject ALL IN CAPITALS** and use coherent sentences: antispam systems understand linguistic syntax better every day.
- If it is a reply or a forward, **remove all content that is not relevant**. Long reply chains often produce HTML errors that add antispam points.
- Avoid **extremely long signatures**. The typical legal disclaimer "This email is intended for its recipient..." is a myth and only causes trouble: if you need legal wording, link to your website instead (for example, to your GDPR clauses).
- Avoid **"strange" font colours**: many antispam systems treat them as an attempt to hide content.
- **Images** are best sent **as attachments**. If you embed them in HTML, keep the text-to-image ratio above 90% text.
- **Send emails in plain text.** If you use HTML, make sure you also include a "plain text" version and that the HTML is properly formatted. If you are having SPAM issues, send plain text only, at least at first, to debug the problem.
- **Avoid shortened links** (bit.ly, tinyurl.com, t.co, fb.me...). These URL shorteners are heavily used by hackers and spammers to hide the real URL of malware or phishing.
- **Avoid contact forms on your website:** it is better to publish your email address. When a user writes to you directly, your address enters their whitelist and your replies will be delivered correctly.

## Conclusions

Thanks to our blocking rules, the antispam relay has an excellent reputation: practically 100% of the emails sent by our customers reach the recipients' inboxes.

Less than 0.3% of the emails sent by our customers are incorrectly flagged as SPAM, and for those cases the bounce message includes the information needed to fix the problem.