Apache and the IETF couldn’t abide Microsoft’s licensing scheme. Now AOL’s back to its original stand: MAILFROM verification is faster and more accurate than slogging through e-mail headers.

AOL liked the old Sender Policy Framework… before it was warped to accommodate Microsoft’s Caller-ID. And that’s where the ISP intends to go.

The Caller-ID/Sender-ID/SPF/DomainKeys battle has been brewing for some time. Our earlier coverage:


09/08/2004: Apache, SpamAssassin Stick Fork In Sender-ID
09/07/2004: Spammers Are First Out With SPF
05/26/2004: Redmond Bows To Wong-AOL. Yahoo Out?
05/19/2004: MARID Fiddles While Yahoo Burns ‘Em?
04/28/2004: IETF Chucks Caller-ID SPF Into Same Pot
04/26/2004: Caller-ID For E-mail Under Fire

So what’s a conscientious network admin to do? Relax and enjoy the show. This ain’t over till it’s over.

See for yourself at internetnews.com.