SpamScore is a scoring system that measures the potential risk of an email to try to determine whether or not it is spam. Every anti-spam system uses this score: the filter adds or subtracts points based on different rules and, if the total reaches the threshold set in the system, it treats the message as spam.
For example, in the most widely used system, Spamassassin, the configuration rejects the message when its SpamScore adds up to 8 or more.
The server administrator can change this value. For example, most servers usually use 5, to make things a little safer for users:
What does SpamScore check when an email is received?
The filter checks several things: content types, the text in the email body and subject line, the technical configuration, whether the sender or any URL is on a blacklist, and so on. Spamassassin, specifically, has more than 700 rules, all of which are always checked. Good practices, such as having DKIM set up correctly, subtract points, while mistakes, like writing subject lines in capital letters, add points to the score:
The DEFAULT SCORES column shows the default value SpamScore assigns to each type of rule, but some of them are little known or not very obvious, so the best thing to do is use the SpamScore checker tool that Mailrelay offers.
But before looking at the design, anti-spam systems also check the configuration, the reputation of the sender and the platform, and their certifications. In theory, the score starts at zero, but not with Mailrelay and its certifications.
You will start with an initial SpamScore of -6.2 without having to configure anything at all, regardless of your design. This greatly increases the deliverability of your newsletters and minimizes potential design, configuration or sender reputation issues (which no longer depend on the platform), something other systems cannot offer.