[CLUE-Tech] Stopping freakin' spam on the mailman lists

[Matt Gushee]

On Tue, Jul 23, 2002 at 08:41:42PM -0600, charlie oriez wrote:
> 
> third option - there are challenge/response systems out there.  somedec.com 
> over in Aurora is using one, though I dont remember the name.  Most spam 
> arrives with forged from/reply-to headers (big surprise, right?).  When you 
> get mail from an unknown source, your system autoreplies asking for a live 
> person to respond.

Hmm ... I've no doubt those systems are effective in reducing spam, but
from what I have seen they present a *very* unfriendly face to the
world--kind of the digital equivalent of surrounding your house with
signs reading "Beware of Dog" and "No Trespassing. That Means You!". Not
that it bothers me terribly, since I've been around for a while and am
accustomed to the crusty ways of geekdom. But I think it might alienate
quite a few newbies, and I personally don't believe that the benefit of
slightly better spam protection is worth that cost.

Of course, it may be that the unwelcoming messages I've seen were simply
boilerplate, and they could be made substantially more pleasant with a
little bit of editing.

-- 
Matt Gushee
Englewood, Colorado, USA
mgushee at havenrock.com
http://www.havenrock.com/