Re: [tlug] Making sure people get the message

[Scott Robbins <scottro@example.com>]

On Wed, Oct 11, 2006 at 02:24:53PM +0900, Dave M G wrote:
> TLUG,
> 
> I've installed Spamassassin and have been using it to check for problems 
> with my emails. That, plus a little help from the PHP general mailing 
> list, and I've managed to alter it so that mails I send via PHP are less 
> "spammy".
> 
> However, just for interest's sake, I tried testing various emails I both 
> give and receive to see how they rated. Almost all emails came up with 
> at least some measure of spamminess. Emails from hotmail got at least 1 
> point on Spamassassins's scale (where a score of 5 means it's definitely 
> spam). Other emails scored at least 0.2.

Almost everything will get some score or another.  The spammers always
have new tricks.  There is a group called rfc-ignorant.org.  Anything
listed in it gets some points, which means hotmail, yahoo, gmail (I
think) my ISP, roadrunner, etc.   Most of the blackberry providers
(at least in the US) are in it.  

Spam becomes worse every day.  A few years ago, it was estimated that 75
percent of all email is spam.  The figure has gotten much higher, I've
seen it listed as 85 percent, and even 90 something.  

So, most email from these major providers already has a score of 1 or 2.
Considering that many of my users and their correspondents have a love
FOR WRITING IN ALL CAPS, that adds to it.  



Conversely, you'll get new spam and see it has a score of 2.5 or 3.1.


> 
> Is the problem with mailing lists in general having a bad rep? Is it 
> majordomo in particular? Is there anything that can be done about it? Or 
> is it just over-enthusiastic anti-spam measures on the part of various ISPs?
> 

One problem (and we're affected by this, as many of our vendors and
customers are in Taiwan, Hong Kong and China) is that Asian IP addresses
get extra points.  I have manually whitelist most of them.  


-- 

Scott Robbins

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