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Message Digest
Volume 28 : Issue 333 : "text" Format
Messages in this Issue:
Is there a better way to prevent spam? [NFP]
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Date: Fri, 18 Dec 2009 13:38:20 -0500
From: Telecom digest moderator <telecomdigestmoderator.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org>
To: redacted@invalid.telecom.csail.mit.edu
Subject: Is there a better way to prevent spam? [NFP]
Message-ID: <20091218183820.GA25158@telecom.csail.mit.edu>
Since my surgeries, I've been looking for ways to simplify and improve
the Telecom Digest work flow, and I'd appreciate the readers' help
with this question. I'd like to hear ideas as to ways we can improve
the anti-spam measures here at The Digest.
Sorting "ham" from spam emails on the input queues is going well:
we've had good results with the current practice of putting
"" (or "[Obfuscate]" or "[Anonymous]" or "[NFP]" {Not for
publication}) in the subject lines, but that method doesn't work for
new posters, and is also error-prone because existing contributors
often forget to include it, so I have to check the spam folders
regularly.
I've been obfuscating and/or removing all the digest's "real" email
addresses from Usenet posts, and although that makes it harder for new
contributors to join, I feel it's essential to keep the spam count
low: the old addresses received upwards of 500 spam emails per day,
and now we're down below ten. This raises the question of how best to
publicize the address that new contributors should use to send in
their first post:
1. I could include a human-readable form of the address as a
postscript on all posts, once per month or so.
2. I could refer posters to a web page containing the info.
3. I might ask new posters to use something like Google Groups.
I favor option (1), because the others require web access, and some
companies don't allow employees to use the web. Are there other ways
to go about it?
The two bastions of spam-prevention, i.e., keywords in subject lines
and hiding submission addresses, are working well, but I need to know
if they're TOO effective. What do you think?
--
Bill Horne
Moderator
telecomdigestmoderator atsign telecom-digest tod org
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End of The Telecom digest (1 message)
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