Re: tlug: Spam filter (desperately) want

[Tod McQuillin <devin@example.com>]

On 20 May 2000, Simon Cozens wrote:

> >In the case where a forged email address causes an ISP to receive a
> >Spamcop report in error, the ISP can go to the spamcop web site, and
> >register there as an "innocent bystander", after which Spamcop will send
> >them no more reports about the spam referencing their domain.
> 
> Oooh, an opt-out list.
> 
> Isn't that what spammers use?

Heh...  Oh, this is fun.

I don't want to start a full fledged flame fest here, but...  it's not
quite the same thing.

Think about it this way -- spamcop does the same thing I would do (looking
up administrators of networks and finding email contact information), only
it automates the task and makes it easier.

Now, if there was no spamcop, people reporting spam would do it all by
hand, and send their own spam reports.  If there was a forged email
address in the spam (like a remove address), and people decided to send
email to the administrator of that domain, that administrator would get
lots of annoying email, and there would be no way to stop it. Since
spamcop acts as a central point for reporting spam, it offers the
administrator the opportunity to stop the misguided messages at their
source, something they'd be unable to do if people all sent their own spam
reports manually.

Spamcop doesn't send to administrators of email domains referenced in spam
except by explicit request of the users, so it's not an "opt-out" list --
users themselves, sending spam reports, decide who to complain to, just as
they would with a manual effort.

Perhaps spamcop's mistake is that it makes it too easy for users to pester
hapless administrators.  Definitely after this exchange, I will be more
careful in my use of spamcop and I won't be so eager to send reports to
administrators of email domains referenced in the spam.
-- 
Tod McQuillin


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