Re: [ATM] SPAM AGAIN!

["Eric S. Johansson" <esj@harvee.org>]

Chris Rowland wrote:
> Hi Bob,
>  > Now that I am calmed down  after a nice cigar, I still need to
>  > remind everyone that is still doing so that HTML is not loved on
>  > this list.
>  > I am getting SPAM again from posts to this list.  The file
>  > attachment is a Google search that I jsut did today and, fo
>  > course, it has some posts that I've done to this list that have
>  > posted my email address.
> 
> It seems to be fundamental to the way the list - and the archives - 
> work. Our email address are posted in the archives, in clear, for anyone 
> to harvest.
> It doesn't seem to be anything that individual people can do anything 
> about, or an issue of posting in HTML.  It is when the messages are 
> converted to HTML  - including the headers - for the archives that the 
> problem arises.

very good assessment of the problem.  Those of us who use mailman to manage our 
lists have long been plagued by the archived presentation software being rather 
"lose" about displaying peoples e-mail addresses.  The latest versions of 
mailman are pretty good about hiding addresses but addresses leak because of 
people's e-mail clients and other such external influences.

I have had people demand occasionally that I edit archives etc. and each time I 
give them an option.  I tell them they can pay $1000 into the pool which I would 
use to build a better archived presentation tool.  This tool would preserve the 
original data but hide addresses in a way that allows people to contact list 
members.  Or, I can just ignore them.  usually they choose the second option.
> 
> It even says so in the ATM info page:
> "Note on privacy: the ATM list is not anonymous, and the e-mail address 
> and name you subscribe with will be shown on your posts and in the list 
> archives. If you wish to keep an e-mail address private, do not post 
> from it."
> 
> I'm a bit surprised, this wouldn't be tolerated in Yahoo.

that's not strictly true.  Yahoo archives also leak addresses.  Yahoo is also an 
evil company and the really want to do business with evil companies when you 
have options?

So I suggest that the members of this list have options.  They can use 
client-side filters to block most spam and some e-mail, they can fund either 
through volunteer time for with money the development of a proper archive 
presentations tool for mailman, they can do nothing and just complain every so 
often.

it's important to note that once an address has leaked into the spammer world, 
it's almost impossible to get it cleaned up.  I have some ideas on how to do 
this more effectively but that's off topic so contact me off list.



-- 
Speech-recognition in use.  It makes mistakes, I correct some.
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