Comcast spam filter and deleted thread

[Eric2203]

Comcast,

Issue #1: there was a long thread on this forum about Comcast's spam filter. There were multiple responses by various people, including by ComcastAntiSpam, who is (was?) a Comcast employee.

I bumped the thread last week because I'm still seeing issues. However, the thread has now disappeared from this forum. Could you please explain why?

Issue #2: I am still getting emails going to spam when they shouldn't, no matter how often I mark them as not spam via Comcast's email clients. I had suggested that Comcast provide each user with a white list, which would tell the spam filter to let these emails through on a per user basis. I was told that the feature was coming, yet I've not seen anything.

Please provide an update on this, as well as a solution for these emails going to Spam repeatedly.

Thanks.

[Eric2203]

Hello,

Comcast folks: please respond. Thanks.

[ComcastCSAEmail]

@Eric2203 

I apologize for the delay,

Issue #1:
If the thread has disappeared entirely, its likely that the original person who created it deleted it themselves. If an employee modifies a thread its usually to just lock it due to it being resolved. We dont delete the threads. If the original creator for example was getting flooded with response emails and wished to no longer receive them - deletion of the thread or asking an employee to lock it would have been the solution. I presume they chose deletion instead. Unfortunately, once a thread is deleted - we cant view it either.

Generally if you are experiencing a problem of your own, its more efficient to create a thread of your own so that its easier to track on both the end-user side and the employee side for resolution. If you want, feel free to PM me about the emails you are having this issue with and i can look into it for you. I can also clear filtration if necessary, but if user reports are continually flowing in marking the emails as spam - the system will place the filtration again due to user reports. Generally this is something that the sending domain can try to combat directly by implementing various features into their emails like an auditing list to ensure people that are receiving the emails do intend to receive them along with double opt-in emails, read receipt checks for engagement, and the most common - unsubscribe options. A temporary current solution would be to make custom filters in the advanced settings portion of the webmail platform to filter specific emails into specific folders(inbox or a specific folder for example). The following support guide goes over how you can create filters:
https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/spam-filters-and-email-blocking-new-experience

Issue #2:
Most spam is based on user report(s). I have heard of there being a feature in the works to create user-specified filtration that you are mentioning. Usually features like that are sent up via feedback from users like yourself, but there are no ETAs or promises of when they would be implemented. A change/feature like that usually has an extensive testing period and time consuming requirements. I understand for your want of this feature as soon as possible, but unfortunately there is no way of speeding up the process. Just know that your feedback has been heard and from what it sounds like, you have received confirmation that it is a feature we are looking to implement. 

[Eric2203]

Hi @ComcastCSAEmail 

I started that previous thread. I know I didn't delete it. I actually bumped it up last week by replying to it. I have links to it in emails from notifications about that thread, and the links no longer work. So the thread has been deleted. I wanted to keep that thread going because @ComcastAntiSpam was responding to it regularly. He must no longer be with Comcast since his username doesn't register.

I just set up a filter rule so that an email from a certain email address that always ends up in Spam goes to Inbox instead. Not a minute later, an email happened to come in from that email address. It still went to Spam. So, your suggestion didn't work.

White list feature: that was mentioned to me months ago. Last May, as a matter of fact. It doesn't take that long to test and release a feature. I'd appreciate it if you could look into it.

Thanks.

[Eric2203]

By the way, I know you can see which emails I mark as spam and which emails I mark as not spam, so you should be able to see what I am referring to.

[BruceW]

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@ComcastCSAEmail wrote: ... If the thread has disappeared entirely, its likely that the original person who created it deleted it themselves. ...

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You may want to check with the Forum Administrator about this. User-level posters cannot delete threads, or even their own posts. The most they can do is edit a post to remove the content, but the empty post remains unless an Expert or Employee removes it.

Unfortunately, once a thread is deleted - we cant view it either.

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Usually threads are not deleted, they are moved to a hidden area called "removed posts" where they are still visible to those Employees and others to whom the Forum Administrator has given special access permission.

[ComcastCSAEmail]

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@BruceW wrote:

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@ComcastCSAEmail wrote: ... If the thread has disappeared entirely, its likely that the original person who created it deleted it themselves. ...

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You may want to check with the Forum Administrator about this. User-level posters cannot delete threads, or even their own posts. The most they can do is edit a post to remove the content, but the empty post remains unless an Expert or Employee removes it.

Unfortunately, once a thread is deleted - we cant view it either.

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Usually threads are not deleted, they are moved to a hidden area called "removed posts" where they are still visible to those Employees and others to whom the Forum Administrator has given special access permission.

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interesting insights, i will do some poking around and see what might have happened then. As far as i know I am the only user managing this section of the forums. I have yet to remove or delete any threads. Only feasible explanation i can think of is a possibility of user error or system error, but cant say for sure at this time. I'll see what i can dig up. 

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@Eric2203 wrote:

By the way, I know you can see which emails I mark as spam and which emails I mark as not spam, so you should be able to see what I am referring to.

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@Eric2203 I can see what you are referring to, the sender appears to only be sending spam to our network with majority of the filtration being from end-user reports through hitting the "spam" function. No amount of filtration clearing will get these emails to the inbox. I have looked at the filter you have enabled as well, have you tried using just the domain as the variable for filtration instead of the direct email address? If you can try using just the domain in the filter and see if it has any effect on the filter. 

EDIT: I was able to find out what happened and it indeed has been moved to "removed posts" due to personal information being posted in the thread.

[Eric2203]

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@ComcastCSAEmail wrote:

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@Eric2203 wrote:

By the way, I know you can see which emails I mark as spam and which emails I mark as not spam, so you should be able to see what I am referring to.

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@Eric2203 I can see what you are referring to, the sender appears to only be sending spam to our network with majority of the filtration being from end-user reports through hitting the "spam" function. No amount of filtration clearing will get these emails to the inbox. I have looked at the filter you have enabled as well, have you tried using just the domain as the variable for filtration instead of the direct email address? If you can try using just the domain in the filter and see if it has any effect on the filter. 

EDIT: I was able to find out what happened and it indeed has been moved to "removed posts" due to personal information being posted in the thread.

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I will try what you suggested with the filter rule. We'll see what happens.

Thanks for looking into what happened to that forum thread. I would have preferred if personal content was edited out rather than remove the entire thread.

[Eric2203]

@ComcastCSAEmail - Using the domain only for the filter rule did not help. I'm guessing your spam filter ignores the rules. Can you confirm that?

This is now bad enough that, this week alone, I've had to move at least a dozen legit emails out of Spam and back in to my Inbox.

This absolutely needs addressed. While the Spam filter catches real spam, it's also catching many legit emails. This is a problem for me. Have you been able to check with developers whether a white list feature is indeed coming?

[BruceW]

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@Eric2203 wrote: ... Using the domain only for the filter rule did not help. ...

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Are you trying to use filters to prevent Comcast from putting emails in the Spam folder? If so, that won't work. Filters only operate on mail delivered to the Inbox, and as it is being delivered (so not after-the-fact). I don't understand why @ComcastCSAEmail suggested using filters if that's what you're trying to do.

Comcast should provide a way users can whitelist a sender so their mail would not be considered spam, but they don't. The "Not Spam" function takes a lot of clicking on a lot of messages to perhaps stop future messages from being filtered. If CSA can't "unspam" a sender for you, the only thing you can do to prevent their messages from going to the Spam folder is to turn spam filtering off completely so that everything is placed in the Inbox.

[Eric2203]

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@BruceW wrote:

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@Eric2203 wrote: ... Using the domain only for the filter rule did not help. ...

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Are you trying to use filters to prevent Comcast from putting emails in the Spam folder? If so, that won't work. Filters only operate on mail delivered to the Inbox, and as it is being delivered (so not after-the-fact). I don't understand why @ComcastCSAEmail suggested using filters if that's what you're trying to do.

Comcast should provide a way users can whitelist a sender so their mail would not be considered spam, but they don't. The "Not Spam" function takes a lot of clicking on a lot of messages to perhaps stop future messages from being filtered. If CSA can't "unspam" a sender for you, the only thing you can do to prevent their messages from going to the Spam folder is to turn spam filtering off completely so that everything is placed in the Inbox.

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@ComcastCSAEmail did suggest using filters for spam. It's now obvious that that doesn't work.

Yes, we need the white list feature. I've asked for it a year ago, was told it was coming, and then nothing.

I don't want to have to turn the Spam filter off, but I will if this continues. Too many legit emails make it to Spam.

[ComcastCSAEmail]

@Eric2203 I did some diggin and turns out that the filters unfortuantely indeed do not impact the spam folder. I'm still working on my end to see if there is anything we can do to tweak the filtration and get it delivered into the inbox. I've signed up for the newsletter myself to get some example emails and headers to further troubleshoot.

In regards to personalized whitelisting/filtering - I have confirmed that there is a Address Book whitelisting in development, basically a whitelisting per mailbox that accounts for whether or not the person emailing you is in your address book/contacts and filtrates those emails directly to the inbox. Unfortunately there is no estimated time for completion, but is near its final stages for implementation. 

[Eric2203]

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@ComcastCSAEmail wrote:

@Eric2203 I did some diggin and turns out that the filters unfortuantely indeed do not impact the spam folder. I'm still working on my end to see if there is anything we can do to tweak the filtration and get it delivered into the inbox. I've signed up for the newsletter myself to get some example emails and headers to further troubleshoot.

In regards to personalized whitelisting/filtering - I have confirmed that there is a Address Book whitelisting in development, basically a whitelisting per mailbox that accounts for whether or not the person emailing you is in your address book/contacts and filtrates those emails directly to the inbox. Unfortunately there is no estimated time for completion, but is near its final stages for implementation. 

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Hi @ComcastCSAEmail 

Thanks for looking into it. For the record, the newsletter that you're referring to isn't the only one I've had to mark as "not spam" recently. Feel free to take a look.

As to the feature, that is good to hear, but I don't particularly want to have to add newsletters to my contact list just to avoid them going to Spam. But I guess it's better than nothing.

[CCAndrew]

The problem with the deleted thread was that the Original Poster included personal information, that you quoted, and was removed for their security.

[Eric2203]

I was the original poster of that deleted thread...

[CCAndrew]

No, it was someone else and you replied. Your post was also removed because you also made an inflammatory remark to that original poster.

[Eric2203]

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@CCAndrew wrote:
No, it was someone else and you replied. Your post was also removed because you also made an inflammatory remark to that original poster.

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Ok, I guess I am misremembering. However, the point still stands that you should edit that out rather than remove an entire thread altogether. Particularly one that had a lot of replies like that one. That's a pretty abrupt way of dealing with personal info being posted.

Aside from that, @ComcastCSAEmail, any progress on investigating emails going to Spam rather than Inbox?

[ComcastCSAEmail]

@Eric2203 I am actively monitoring the existing one i have and put a few changes in place that show a higher success rate for email going to inbox as opposed to spam folder. The other ones i am unable to identify the exact emails you are referring to. I would need you to list out any other ones you are experiencing issues with. Domains only would work. 

[Eric2203]

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@ComcastCSAEmail wrote:

@Eric2203 I am actively monitoring the existing one i have and put a few changes in place that show a higher success rate for email going to inbox as opposed to spam folder. The other ones i am unable to identify the exact emails you are referring to. I would need you to list out any other ones you are experiencing issues with. Domains only would work. 

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I'll send you a PM with the relevant info.

Just a note: why the domain only? I can see cases where some emails from a given domain are legitimate, while others are not. Think email provider or host for example.

[ComcastCSAEmail]

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@Eric2203 wrote:

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@ComcastCSAEmail wrote:

@Eric2203 I am actively monitoring the existing one i have and put a few changes in place that show a higher success rate for email going to inbox as opposed to spam folder. The other ones i am unable to identify the exact emails you are referring to. I would need you to list out any other ones you are experiencing issues with. Domains only would work. 

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I'll send you a PM with the relevant info.

Just a note: why the domain only? I can see cases where some emails from a given domain are legitimate, while others are not. Think email provider or host for example.

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with just the domain i can find all emails sent to our server instead of a specific one and then narrow my results from there. Sometimes helps seeing the bigger picture as well. More data available with just the domain overall.