Re: end to spam

From: Rick Walker (walker@cutter.hpl.hp.com)
Date: Tue Dec 08 1998 - 15:51:14 PST


Date: Tue, 08 Dec 1998 15:51:14 -0800
From: Rick Walker <walker@cutter.hpl.hp.com>
To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com
Message-Id: <aabcdefg3893$foo@default>
Subject: Re: end to spam


> Paul Burkhardt writes:
>
> I've sent this a few times before, but I'll try it again. One
> possible way to reduce spam is to have a key word in the subject line
> that the listserver will look for. Example:
>
> Subject: [CPlist] fertilizing neps
>
> Any mail which does not have the [key] will be filtered out.

Dear Paul,

Such a restriction would be a terrific burden. We already have problems
with people not using descriptive Subject: lines. The listserv rejects
all messages that contain the word Digest in the Subject, to prevent
people from simply doing a Reply to the Digest.

This simple policy requires me to handle several dozen mis-posted
messages each week. I'm afraid that any further restriction would
severely interfere with my ability to get any work done.

The current anti-SPAM policy is that I block the domain and user name
from the listserv after each offense. That means that (If I'm not
asleep at the switch) you'll only see one instance of each SPAM. I'd
guess that only a few percent of the SPAM actually makes it through.
The vast majority of it is caught by our scripts.

Another possibility would be to only allow known members to post, but
my experience is that many people post from several machines, and this
would require me to manually maintain an alias table for 1000+ members.
(Not to mention the letter-writing that I would need to do to explain to
the 20-30 people a week that would have their postings bounced because
they weren't using the same machine they subscribed from).

Our current system is a good compromise for reducing SPAM without
requiring 20-30 hours a week of moderation on my part.

To minimize annoyance, please just ignore SPAM. Don't comment on it,
and don't flame it on the list. I'll take care of it behind the scenes.

kind regards,

--
Rick Walker 



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