So, how do you add us to your white list?  There are quite a few Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and email software packages available today.  In time, we'll do our best to cover as many as possible.  Here are a few of the most common providers.  Click on the appropriate link below to obtain your specific white list instructions:

Yahoo, Hotmail, GMail, AOL

what is a white list?

So why do I need to add r4ds-ds to my email white list? What is a "white list" anyway? Great questions - and ones that we'd love to explain...

Most of us who use email are unfortunately too aware of "Spam email".  A simple definition of spam email would be an unsolicited commercial message (email) that is sent to multiple recipients (often thousands or millions).  They're very annoying, and we're happy to see that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are doing what they can to help filter out these types of emails.  Unfortunately, sometimes the good guys get filtered out with the bad.  If you're interested why this happens, we've created a separate page to explain why newsletters get filtered as spam.

The solution?  The white list, approved senders list, or safe senders list - there are a variety of names for it.  Simply put, a white list is a group of contacts or email addresses that you want to receive email from.  When you first receive an email, your service provider or email software will check this list.  If the email has been sent from someone on this list, the email will be automatically delivered to your Inbox - every time!  We emphasize the words "every time" because spam filters are constantly changing.  So, if you are receiving our newsletter today, without issue, it may not always be that way - unless you add us to your white list.

Yahoo Mail

If Yahoo interprets an email as SPAM, it will place it in your "Bulk" folder - located in the left navigation.  It's a good idea to check this folder periodically. If you find an email in the bulk folder that you wanted to receive, simply open the email and click on the "Not Spam" button.  This will help to train Yahoo's filters that this email sender is not sending SPAM.  Note that this will not automatically insure that you'll receive email from the desired sender in the future.  You've done your part to help in the fight against SPAM - now let's make sure that you receive the r4ds-ds newsletter.  To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open your Yahoo mailbox and click on the "Options" link in the upper right-hand corner)
2. Open “More Options”. Find the "Filters" link on the left sidebar and click on it.
3. We're going to set-up a new filter, so click on "Add Filter".
4. In the "Filter Name" box, give your filter a name that reminds you of what it's all about - you might use something like "R4DS-DS" or "R4 newsletter".
5. In the “sender” section, select “contains” and then in the box immediately to the right, enter the text:

@r4ds-ds.com

6. Near the bottom of the filter window, find the section that says "Move to Folder” and select “Inbox” from the dropdown box.  
7. In the top left corner, click the “Save Changes” button.  Voila!  You've done it - you've told Yahoo that anytime it receives an email from R4DS-DS to place in it your Inbox.

(return to newsletter sign-up)

Hotmail

Hotmail will place any email that it interprets as SPAM in the "Junk" folder - located in the left navigation when you login.  You'll want to make sure to check this folder every so often to make sure that an email you did want to receive did not end-up there.  You can insure that the r4ds-ds newsletter is delivered to your Inbox by adding us as a "Safe sender".  Here's how:

1. Login to your Hotmail account.
2. Click on the "Options" tab in the upper right-hand corner and then click on "More options ...".
3. We want to add r4ds-ds as a Safe Sender, so locate the "Preventing junk email" category and click on "Safe and blocked senders".
4. Click on "Safe senders"
5. In the box labeled "Sender or domain to mark as safe:", enter the following:

   
   r4ds-ds.com

6. Click the "Add to list >>" button.
7. That's it!  There is no "save" button - you've now insured that you'll receive emails from r4ds-ds.

Note:  Hotmail uses additional protection features that will block attachments, pictures, and links in the message.  Our newsletter uses a number of graphics (pictures) and often includes links to our site.  To see these, simply open one of our emails and click the "Mark as safe" link at the top of the email.  This will add r4ds-ds to your "safe list" and will allow all pictures and links to function in the current and future emails.

(return to newsletter sign-up)

GMail (Google Mail)

GMail will place any email that it interprets as SPAM in the "Spam" folder - located in the left navigation after you login.  To insure that you receive the r4ds-ds newsletter, all you need to do is add us as a contact. Here's how:

1. Login to your GMail account.
2. Click on the "Contacts" link in the left navigation.
3. Click on the "Create Contact" link in the top left of your screen.
4. In the "Name" field, enter the following:

   
   R4DS-DS

5. In the "Primary Email" field enter the following emails:

   
   fr@r4ds-ds.com , sales@r4ds-ds.com

6. Click the "Save" button at the top of the screen.  That's it!  You've now told GMail that all future R4DS-DS newsletters should be delivered to your Inbox.

(return to newsletter sign-up)

AOL Version 9.0

AOL will move any email that it interprets as SPAM to the "Spam" folder - located at the left of your screen.  You can insure that the R4DS-DS newsletter is consistently delivered to your Inbox by adding us to your address book.  Here's how:

1. Login to your AOL email account and open your r4ds-ds email.  If you were expecting an email from us and it didn't arrive, make sure you check your "Spam" folder.
2. After opening the email, click on the button called "Add Address" - located at the right of your screen.
3. You will notice that the email address "fr@r4ds-ds.com" or "sales@r4ds-ds.com" has been auto-populated in the "Other E-Mail" field - this is fine!  You don't need to fill-in any of the other fields, but you're free to do so if it helps you organize your contacts better.
4. Click the "Save" button at the bottom of the Address Card window.  You're done!