Spray mail problem in python

The infamous spray mail problem!

The spray mail problem is a common issue in Python where a large number of emails are sent in a short period of time, causing the email server to become overwhelmed and potentially block your IP address. This can happen when you're using a Python script to send emails programmatically.

Here are some common causes of the spray mail problem:

  1. Unlimited email sending: If your script is designed to send an unlimited number of emails without any delay or throttling, it can quickly overwhelm the email server.
  2. Lack of email server throttling: Some email servers have built-in throttling mechanisms to prevent abuse. If your script doesn't respect these limits, it can trigger the spray mail problem.
  3. Poor email sending implementation: If your script is not designed to handle email sending efficiently, it can lead to a high volume of emails being sent in a short period, causing the spray mail problem.

To avoid the spray mail problem in Python, follow these best practices:

  1. Implement email server throttling: Use a library like python-email-throttler to throttle the number of emails sent per minute or hour.
  2. Use a delay between email sends: Add a delay between each email send using time.sleep() or a similar function to prevent sending too many emails too quickly.
  3. Limit the number of concurrent email sends: Use a library like concurrent.futures to limit the number of concurrent email sends to prevent overwhelming the email server.
  4. Use a reputable email sending library: Choose a reputable email sending library like smtplib or yagmail that is designed to handle email sending efficiently and respectfully.
  5. Monitor your email sending activity: Keep an eye on your email sending activity to ensure you're not overwhelming the email server.

Here's an example of how you can implement email server throttling using python-email-throttler:

import email_throttler

throttler = email_throttler.Throttler(
    max_emails_per_minute=100,
    max_emails_per_hour=1000
)

def send_email(to, subject, body):
    if throttler.is_allowed():
        # Send the email
        pass
    else:
        print("Email sending throttled. Waiting...")
        time.sleep(60)  # Wait for 1 minute before trying again

Remember to always follow the email server's terms of service and guidelines for sending emails programmatically.