SOBL - SOBL stands for Spam.org Block List. This list contains domains and IP addresses which Spam.org recommends blocking. Traffic originating from these IPs or containing the specified domains should be dropped. This includes mail traffic, web traffic and general internet traffic. This list includes the most severe offenders. IPs and domain names on this list have generally been reported multiple times by multiple users and have not resolved the complaints.

SOCL - SOCL stands for Spam.org Complaint List. This list contains domains, IP addresses, registrars, registries, ISPs, TLDs and DNS servers for which complaints have been filed. When a complaint is filed we identify all authorities linked to it and generate subcomplaints for each authority. For example, a spam complaint may contain a domain such as "spam.org" which would trigger a spam subcomplaint for the registry, registrar and DNS provider of that domain. Logging complaints into the SOCL ensures that we can add complaints fo the SOBL when they reach a certain threshold. Please note that just because a complaint has been filed against an network resource does not mean that the network resource is troublesome.

Authority - An authority is an organization that is responsible for resolving a complaint related to a specific internet resource. For example, a spam complaint may trigger an alert with the ISP responsible for the IP from which the spam originated. This authority is the "ISP". That same spam complaint may contain a domain name which may trigger an alert with the registrar of record for that domain. This authority is the "Registrar". The following authorities are currently supported: ISP, Registry, Registrar, DNS, RIR.

Complaint - A complaint is a report submitted by an individual, organization or automated system that contains a grievance related to a network resource. A complaint may be an email, server log, router log or phone number.

Subcomplaint - A subcomplaint is an automatically generated report that is targeted at a specific authority and directly related to a complaint. For example, a spam complaint may contain the IP address of the sender in the raw header and a domain name in the body of the message. The spam complaint would be broken down into multiple subcomplaints which would be sent to the IP address authority and to the domain registry authority and to the domain registrar authority. This allows us to track and resolve complaints linked to specific network resources.

Complaint Types - All complaints are ultimately resolved to one of three core types: IP, Domain, Phone.

Network Resources - A network resource is an IP, IP block, domain, phone number, registrar, registry, DNS provider, ISP and RIR.

ISP - ISP stands for internet service provider. In simplest terms, this is the organization that is responsible for an IP address or a block of IP addresses, whether it is used for sending spam or hosting a web site. ISPs allow an IP address to be globally accessible via the internet. This definition is to serve in the scope of use at Spam.org.

Registrar - A registrar is an organization that sells domain name registrations. A domain name has two components, an SLD and a TLD. SLD stands for single level domain, it is the part of the domain that comes before the dot, for example in cars.com the SLD would be cars. TLD stands for top level domain and is also known as the domain extension. This is the part of the domain that comes after the dot, for example in cars.com the TLD is .com. A registrar is a reseller of a domain for the registry that operates a specific TLD. A customer (also known as a registrant) purchases a domain name registration for a period of 1-10 years from a registrar if that domain is not registered by someone else.

Registry - A registry is an organization that manages a domain name extension. For example, Verisign owns and manages the .com and .net extensions. A registry manages the backend infrastructure to ensure that domains in that extension resolve and collects a registration fee from registrars for every registered domain.

DNS - DNS stands for domain name system. A DNS server accepts a domain name and outputs the IP address that hosts its web site. DNS servers are used by web browsers to resolve domain names. Spam.org may report complaints to DNS server operators if the complain threshold for that operator is reached.

Internet Community - Any internet user.