Block or Flag? Choosing the Right Action for Each Defense
Almost every Spamify layer lets you choose between blocking a submission and flagging it for review. Here’s a framework for deciding which action fits which signal.
Spamify gives you a recurring choice across its layers: when a check fails, should the submission be blocked outright or flagged for review? The settings — block_action, ratelimit_action, captcha_action, smtp_unverifiable_action — all pose the same question in different contexts. Here’s how to answer it consistently.
The core trade-off
- Block — zero inbox noise, zero human effort, but a false positive means a real message silently lost.
- Flag — nothing is ever lost, but you (or your team) have to review the flagged bucket.
The right choice depends on one thing: how confident is the signal?
A confidence-based rule of thumb
| Signal | Confidence | Suggested action |
|---|---|---|
Confirmed-dead mailbox (hard_block_smtp) | Very high | Block |
No mail server for domain (hard_block_mx) | Very high | Block |
| Honeypot filled | High | Block |
| Rate limit exceeded | High (lower on shared IPs) | Block, or flag if shared-IP traffic |
| CAPTCHA borderline score | Medium | Flag |
| Unverifiable mailbox | Low (ambiguous) | Flag |
Start soft, tighten with evidence
When in doubt, flag. It’s the reversible choice — you can always inspect the dashboard, confirm the flagged items are genuinely spam, and then switch that layer to block with confidence. Blocking first risks losing a real message you’ll never know existed.
Match the action to the form’s stakes
Also weigh what’s being lost. A missed comment is minor; a missed sales enquiry is not. On high-stakes forms, lean toward flagging borderline signals and reserve blocking for the very-high-confidence ones — while leaning on your allowlist to guarantee known-good senders always get through.
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