On Thu, 19 Dec 2002, Bullwinkle wrote:
> My ISP has a spam and virus filter which holds any such mail until I go
> to the filter site and either delete or ask it to be delivered. In
> order to eliminate as much spam as possible I have to set the rejection
> rate at maximum. Even then, some spam gets through. However, this
> setting also causes some messages, especially those coming from listers
> on the MG-TABC list to get held up. It seems that some listers are
> using mail sites that have spam at the bottom or hidden in the message
> somewhere. This causes by IPSs filter to fail to deliver some email.
<Chip slips out of MG mode and into ISP mode>
It isn't that the MGS, MG-T, and MG-TABC list messages include spam or
have spam hidden in them. They don't. The problem is that spam filtering
mechanisms (especially the "one size fits all" type used by some ISPs) has
a difficult time distinguishing between spam and mailing list messages.
This is because both are usually distributed with a "bulk" precedence
rating, the e-mail equivalent of bulk-rate surface mail. Many spam
filters very stupidly assume anything marked "bulk" is spam.
I don't dispute that spam is a major nuisance, but I don't like it (and
don't use it) at the ISP level. A major problem with all forms of spam
filtering is that it blocks a lot of valid e-mail along with the spam, and
a lot of spam still slips through the filter. It is nearly impossible for
a filter to accurately distinguish between spam and valid e-mail.
--
Chip Old (Francis E. Old) E-Mail: fold@bcpl.net
Manager, BCPL Network Services Phone: 410-887-6180
Manager, BCPL.NET Internet Services FAX: 410-887-2091
320 York Road
Towson, MD 21204 USA
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