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Messages still going into Junk folder that were previously set as Not Junk

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  • 1 am na jafe-jafe bii
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  • i mujjee tontu mooy willy6560

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For quite some time now, some messages that were previously set as Not Junk, are still going into Junk folder. Interestingly, these messages are only from a handful of known valid sources. Further, all these valid messages are setup in the Message Filters, all with the "Get New Mail" option set for "Filter before Junk Classification".

When in the Junk folder, these emails are marked as "Not Junk", which transfers then into the Inbox. Clicking the Inbox automatically sends them to the appropriate sub-folder. It's as though something is forcing these messages into Junk BEFORE Thunderbird even classifies them, bypassing it's internal filtering system. What's frustrating, is that there are no means to see what keywords or phrases are being flagged as Junk, or why those particular emails seem to get into the Junk Folder in the first place.

I should note that while I'm with Spectrum, the email account that's giving me this grief is on my legacy Comcast email account. Could this be where Comcast's servers are flagging these as junk BEFORE they reach Thunderbird, and TB simply routes them to Junk, bypassing any additional checks?

Thanks, Bill

For quite some time now, some messages that were previously set as '''Not Junk''', are still going into Junk folder. Interestingly, these messages are only from a handful of known valid sources. Further, all these valid messages are setup in the Message Filters, all with the "Get New Mail" option set for "Filter before Junk Classification". When in the Junk folder, these emails are marked as "Not Junk", which transfers then into the Inbox. Clicking the Inbox automatically sends them to the appropriate sub-folder. It's as though something is forcing these messages into Junk BEFORE Thunderbird even classifies them, bypassing it's internal filtering system. What's frustrating, is that there are no means to see what keywords or phrases are being flagged as Junk, or why those particular emails seem to get into the Junk Folder in the first place. I should note that while I'm with Spectrum, the email account that's giving me this grief is on my legacy Comcast email account. Could this be where Comcast's servers are flagging these as junk BEFORE they reach Thunderbird, and TB simply routes them to Junk, bypassing any additional checks? Thanks, Bill

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willy6560 said

Ok, doesn't sound like a solution, more of a bandaid.

senders who are in your selected address books are white listed. This is not a bandaid, it is how you get to determine who the junk filtering does not apply to. AS you are not limited tothe number of address books you have, adding one specifically for this purpose means you will not be looking at them all the time.

The secondary part of this is that not all mail servers are actually standards compliant and some providers insist on applying their junk filters and will not accept the users input into junk not being junk. some of this is arrogance on the part of providers, some of it is the assumption they know better and a part of it is customer complaints about spam. Comcast allow you to turn their filter off. so perhaps try that first. https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/spam-filters-and-email-blocking-new-experience

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All Replies (9)

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Is the Junk folder an IMAP folder visible in webmail, or the Junk folder created by TB's Junk Controls? Some mail providers call it Spam, Bulk Mail or Junk, and their filters act before messages are downloaded to TB. You may have to whitelist senders in webmail by e.g. adding them to webmail contacts.

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Comcast's web based email client does have a Spam folder. When I see another good email in theTB's Junk folder, I'll check the Comcast client, and mark them as "Not Spam". I'll report back to see if that fixes the problem. Thanks.

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Well, I've been going to Comcast's email page, and marking the emails shows as spam, as "Not Spam". I thought this took care of the problem, but it has not. Can't there be a provision in TB that if you mark/set these emails as "Not Spam" in the Junk folder, these addresses received in the future, would then be re-routed to the Inbox, and processed/sorted accordingly?

It seems obvious that TB receives emails from the mail servers, and routes them accordingly. If they're marked as spam, it doesn't delete them, but routes them to the Junk folder. As with all incoming emails, they're supposed to be washed through the "Message Filters" BEFORE Junk Classification. However, it seems that there's something unique with these emails that TB ignores ahead of this filter step.

Perhaps, create a "Junk Filters" function that will allow the user to specifically identify email addresses that they're OK, bypassing the incoming mail server's spam flag. Shouldn't be too difficult. It doesn't need to be fancy like "Message Filters", just maintain a email address list of good emails, and go from there.

willy6560 moo ko soppali ci

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If the senders are in an address book, the Junk Settings in Account Settings should ensure those senders' messages are not marked as junk.

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The senders are all from commercial sources (i.e. Amazon, Best Buy, etc.) which wouldn't be in my address book.

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willy6560 said

The senders are all from commercial sources (i.e. Amazon, Best Buy, etc.) which wouldn't be in my address book.

Then add them! If the comcast mail system is as brain dead as many are you might even have to add them to a web mail address book.

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Ok, doesn't sound like a solution, more of a bandaid. Fortunately, there are only about six senders involved, so I'll add them as I get them. Will report back if it's successful or not. Thanks.

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Saafara yiñ Tànn

willy6560 said

Ok, doesn't sound like a solution, more of a bandaid.

senders who are in your selected address books are white listed. This is not a bandaid, it is how you get to determine who the junk filtering does not apply to. AS you are not limited tothe number of address books you have, adding one specifically for this purpose means you will not be looking at them all the time.

The secondary part of this is that not all mail servers are actually standards compliant and some providers insist on applying their junk filters and will not accept the users input into junk not being junk. some of this is arrogance on the part of providers, some of it is the assumption they know better and a part of it is customer complaints about spam. Comcast allow you to turn their filter off. so perhaps try that first. https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/spam-filters-and-email-blocking-new-experience

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Ok Matt. That solution to turn off the spam filtering at the Comcast end is the solution. Thanks for that tip.