[ILUG] Spam and more spam

[Juan Flynn]

Paul Askins wrote:

> This has been discussed to death on many ocasions, ending up usually
> producing more mail about the spam than the spam itself.  The end result
> of which has invariably been that:
> The list will remain open

Was spam as big an issue then as it is now?

> Spam is an MUA problem, not an MTA problem.

I can't say I entirely agree with that. If you access ILUG mail on a low 
bandwidth device (I sometimes check my mail over 9600baud GSM) I'd 
rather spam be stopped upstream before I have to pay for it.

One thing I've noticed in passing - many 'spam' mails sent to ILUG 
appear to be multipart MIME messages with the attachment (presumably a 
HTML file) deleted. How about only allowing plaintext posts only?

> And I never knew what MUA/MTA was until now, google is my handy that
> way sometimes.

But would you really consider a mailing list an MTA? Mailman could even 
be seen as an MUA in some respects because it has a web interface for 
reading posted messages.

The argument of lowering the bar to posts messages perhaps lowers it too 
much. How about a 'how to post to ILUG' web page with simple 
instructions on how to subscribe. Perhaps even have a CGI post-to-ILUG 
form where people can post directly onto the list without subscribing, a 
bit like the ILUG tips forum. This means the bar is still low enough for 
newbies to post to the list. The present situation of having 'the bar' 
lying on the floor being trampled by spammers would then end and most 
spam will be stopped unless the spammer makes the effort of either 
subscribing or using the CGI form.

Juan