and the error message is?

Hi Matt

The error message is "This is the mail system at Vianet.

I'm sorry to have to inform you that your message could not be delivered to one or more recipients. It's attached below.

For further assistance, please visit our web site at <http://vianet.ca/> for technical support contact information.

Please keep this failure notice if you require any technical assistance. Don't forget to remove any sensitive information before forwarding this notice to anyone.

                               Vianet Mail System

Failure reason(s):

<r.h@cogeco.ca>: host mx.cogeco.ca[66.226.82.201] said: 550 5.7.1 This message

   has been blocked for containing SPAM-like characteristics [BA2FC92315DB4]
   (in reply to end of DATA command)

Reporting-MTA: dns; smtp1.vianet.ca X-Postfix-Queue-ID: 17D1740543 X-Postfix-Sender: rfc822; renees@thot.net Arrival-Date: Sun, 16 Feb 2020 18:00:10 -0500 (EST)

Final-Recipient: rfc822; r.h@cogeco.ca Original-Recipient: rfc822;r.h@cogeco.ca Action: failed Status: 5.7.1 Remote-MTA: dns; mx.cogeco.ca Diagnostic-Code: smtp; 550 5.7.1 This message has been blocked for containing

   SPAM-like characteristics [BA2FC92315DB4]"

but Vianet, when I called them, said it's nothing to do with them, they didn't block it, cogeco did. Cogeco won't talk to me as I do not have an account there. The message, incidentally, does not contain spam-like characteristics and I had been emailing this person for years before this problem arose late last fall.

Ok, so the recipient server (cogeco) is rejecting your mail as spam. I suggest you ask them why.

Some common issues are 1. Signatures that contain social media graphics. If you got them on the internet they may have been used in real spam.

2. The signature is larger than the email. Again graphics and the use of Microsoft word can be both issues here.

3. The email looks like image spam because the ratio of text to images is image heavy.

Some steps to self diagnose are.

Remove any signature from your mail make sure the email has a subject and text and few images Send plain text email to the recipient.

Try each and see if you get your message delivered before you move on.

Given the error provides the information that the decision appears to have been made at the conclusion of the data command, it is the body content of your email that is getting their system excited, not other things like blacklisted IP addresses or block lists. Unfortunately the only ones that know for certain what cogeco.ca thinks looks like spam are cogeco.ca.

You could also try checking your mail as spam in some of the mail checking web sites and see what they suggest. I have not used these sites, but this one is the sort of thing I am talking about http://isnotspam.com/

Thanks for your thoughts, Matt.

Cogego won't talk to me as I do not have an account there.

The last email I sent today that got the same failure notice merely said 'Did you receive this?' I didn't even sign my name. The subject line said 'test'.

So it seems unreasonable that they're not being accepted.