Re: Anti-Spam Option

[Peter Evans peterev@xxxxxxxx]

I'm reluctant to say yet more on this in public, but Jeff Seager pulls my
chain:

>The best possible weapon [against spam] is no response,
>on or off the list. . . .

I strongly disagree. Being spammed is not inevitable (three of my four
addresses are almost or completely unaffected by spam). There are ways of
countering spam that work. I don't want to boast here, but, despite my
ignorance of sendmail etc., I once identified an unwitting mail relay. The
guy in charge was shocked to find how his equipment had been exploited by
spammers, and grateful to have got my polite tip. Yes, the spammers find
other mail relays, but with enterprises such as ORBS http://www.orbs.org/
this is getting harder and harder.

When I consider how easy it is for a well programmed spambot to scavenge
*all* my mail addresses, I'm grateful to the various organizations and the
many people who are more energetic than I am in countering spam.

I don't much mind whether Carl "closes" this list or leaves it open. And
anybody here can deal with spam or ignore it as he sees fit. But please
think thrice before encouraging others to give in to the spammers.

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Peter Evans