Certainly the amount of growing spam is a concern for all, and one can't be blamed for taking sensible pre-cautions. It was fully my intention to honor this request, which I really didn't have any other choice. See... the recipients don't get your email if you don't go through this extra hoop.

But see what is happening with this service which charges a yearly subscription of $24.95, is that there isn't any guarantee that it won't block legitimate email.

Each time I tried to confirm my email address I was greeted with this message:

The recipient of your email uses Vanquish to limit the amount of spam reaching his mailbox. Your email address was not recognized. Normally, this web page offers a way for you to demonstrate that your mail arrived from a real address and a real person.

But the challenge has already expired, and your email has been cleared from the system. Please refer to the date and subject in the reply that you received and RE-send your original message. You will receive another opportunity to authenticate your address.

Just how many hoops and failed attempts to contact people using this service will people endure to try and get their message through? This was enough for me.

In the past, I've had people subscribe to my newsletter which is double opt-in, and I've gotten similar messages back. I don't recall, if these used the same service or something different. These confirm requests have all been deleted, and these people have not been added to my mailing list.

No one likes spam! Still it's a shame that anti-spam tools and services can have a negative impact on your business.