[tlug] Re: Email address munging in the TLUG archives

["Shannon Jacobs" <shannon.jacobs@example.com>]

With regards to JavaScript-based address protection, I can report that I've 
been using a variation of this approach. I don't heavily mung the address, 
but the crucial JavaScript that generates the actual email address is in a 
separate .JS file that would require more clever crawling to access. I've 
been using that technique for many years now, and that particular email 
address receives very little spam, even though it's an old one.

However, some spam started appearing about a year ago, and my guess is that 
at least some of the spammers are getting even more cunning about their 
searches. With my technique, I think they would actually need to simulate 
the execution of the JavaScript and then crawl the entire tree to find 
it--it isn't even displayed in the rendered pages, but is inside a mailto: 
link. Thinking of it that way, it's perhaps more likely that the email 
address leaked from one of the very few people who have received email from 
it...

Anyway, I guess the main point remains that you can't solve economic 
problems with technical bandaids.

P.S. I'd like to attend the bonenkai, but I have a competing bonenkai that 
night. I don't suppose it's likely to run into the morning? Not that I'm 
likely to be feeling too good about a run into Tokyo at that time... Hair of 
the dog that bit me, and all that? "Beer. It's not just for breakfast 
anymore."