>Having fought this problem, in this shape or other, since 2000, I'm simply stating that the client has to have their own mail server, period. The identity of the sender has to be the client, even if it's automatedservice@myclient.info - no buts and no ifs.

You can do that with Gmail (or any other mail service) as long as you have the right SPF configuration in DNS. I send email all the time for my west-wind.com account through gmail.

The biggest problem with GMail et al is that they do not allow bulk sending - if you send more than a few emails all at once or even within some interval, you'll get blocked.

The best solution to this problem I've found is to use a service like MailGun.com and let them worry about sending your email. If you only have a few emails to go out a service like this is free as well.

+++ Rick ---