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Thread ID: 87207	2008-02-12 08:40:00	Hate spammers?	Chilling_Silence (9)	PC World Chat

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
639743	2008-02-13 09:54:00	Changing your address isn't a solution. Try subscribing to a few mailing lists, make a few posts, then see what happens to your spam count. At the end of the say, the only strategies that work well are whitelisting or filtering. Some of us use our email for more than just decoration. I must disagree. Changing your address is the solution. You can be careful who you subscribe to and you can use third party (as I do when I need to give an address - I use mailinator.com) for most mailing lists or whatever. Why can't you read your mail online? If you were with Hotmail or Yahoo you would. You don't download either of those so you can read them, do you? Same with mailinator or spambob. You can read your mail on the site. I only give my private email address to close family and trusted friends. If you want to call that "decoration", that's fine. I know, and I am very confident, that my system works. I have NO spam filtering software at all, although with my Hotmail account (not private) they say they do spam filtering but unfortunately it sometimes works too well and rejects some that is not spam. While my system is not perfect, I would say that it is pretty damn close. I do not receive spam but I do receive email from everyone that is important to me and that is what counts. Rather than try to find fault, why not give it a try? I know it works and others who read my previous thread were also aware that it works as some were doing the same or similar. You have everything to gain and lots of spam to loose!:thumbs:	Roscoe (6288)
639744	2008-02-13 10:37:00	I must disagree. Changing your address is the solution.Only for you. Not for those who do more than email a few people occasionally. You can be careful who you subscribe to...It doesn't matter how careful you are, spammers sign up to these lists for the sole purpose of harvesting the addresses of the people who post to them. ...and you can use third party (as I do when I need to give an address - I use mailinator.com) for most mailing lists or whatever. Why can't you read your mail online?I can. It's a pain in the arse for large volumes of mail, and lacks decent filtering. It's far easier simply to read it all in one 'real' client (I use Evolution, or Outlook if I'm on a work PC), in the same place. If you were with Hotmail or Yahoo you would. You don't download either of those so you can read them, do you? Same with mailinator or spambob. You can read your mail on the site.Which adds a whole pile of added hassle. Most people do not want to bother with multiple accounts simply to subscribe to things which they read regularly - some of the major mailing lists common in the tech community go through tens or even hundreds of messages per day. As an added hassle, most list these days do not accept anonymous posts - you must post from the same address you subscribe with. This stops people anonymously spamming the list, but has the downside of publishing your real address to all the other subscribers. I only give my private email address to close family and trusted friends.Then what do you use for everything else? If you want to call that "decoration", that's fine. I know, and I am very confident, that my system works.Your system works for you - most people find it extremely annoying trying to juggle high email volumes across multiple email accounts. Proper sorting rules and spam filtering, and a single webmail for the one-shot signups that you know will result in junk works perfectly if you take the time to set it up. I have NO spam filtering software at all, although with my Hotmail account (not private) they say they do spam filtering but unfortunately it sometimes works too well and rejects some that is not spam.Unless you run your own mailserver, you will have spam filtering at the provider/ISP level. If your filter is getting more than 0.1% or so false positives, then it's not configured properly or you haven't trained it. Modern bayesian filtering is damn good. While my system is not perfect, I would say that it is pretty damn close. I do not receive spam but I do receive email from everyone that is important to me and that is what counts.When 'everyone that is important to me' means only a few close friends & family, sure - it works until someone makes a mistake and forwards something wthout masking your address. Then you go get a new one, and only have to tell a few people. If you use email on a larger scale (at work for instance), your method immediately fails - repeatedly switching addresses for a large number of contacts isn't feasable (and most workplaces won't allow it either as they like convention). Setting it up properly, once, beats the hell out of juggling a large number of temporary accounts. Remember also that suggesting you use a disposable account for mailing lists is meaningless - you still have to sort through the crud somehow, regardless of which address it's being delivered to. Rather than try to find fault, why not give it a try? I know it works..Fine. 'Knowing' it works, explain to me how your method could possibly hold up under the scenarios I have described above. You will get spam - how do you plan on dealing with it when it arrives? ...and others who read my previous thread were also aware that it works as some were doing the same or similar.For the odd person in that thread, it works - because they are using it on a *very* small scale. For anyone using email on a larger scale (which is most of us these days) your method doesn't work. You have everything to gain and lots of spam to loose!:thumbs:Incorrect. Using my current method (procmail for sorting, and a well trained & configured spam filter) around two or three spam messages per year make it as far as my inbox, and I have had just one false positive the entire time I have used this system (over 5 years, with the same email address). Judging by the amount of spam my filter zaps each day, I'd say my system works. I therefore have very little to gain, as my current system works almost perfectly, and I have a ton of spam that my system loses for me automatically - no need to adopt a clearly useless method that will only clutter up my inbox and annoy my contacts. Please try to rationally rebut the points I have made above - I don't think you can. Note that sticking your head in the sand doesn't count as a proper rebuttal.	Erayd (23)
639745	2008-02-13 10:42:00	Essentially Bletch is right. And keep in mind the silly habits of people forwarding and CCi'ing emails to everyone in their address books.... that is a spam harverster's dream.	Greg (193)
639746	2008-02-13 11:13:00	Lol @ rationally. Isn't this the guy who thinks he's psychic?	roddy_boy (4115)
639747	2008-02-13 19:18:00	Lol @ rationally. Isn't this the guy who thinks he's psychic? I have never claimed to be a physic - your words, not mine. And that from somebody who admitted (at the time) that you did not have the time and/or attention span to read it all. How the hell would you know?:lol: I couldn't be bothered reading all of that. (Spelling is not your forté either, I see.) Bletch: I'm not saying you are wrong, I'm just pointing out what has worked well for me over the past two years. I have no problems. I have no need for spam filters or anything of that ilk. But personally, I fail to see the difference between reading your mail on or off line, even if you do have large volumes of mail. (What a burden it is to be as popular, eh?;)) Most people these days have broadband and so are online continually. Just leave it on Hotmail or a third party. Can't see why it matters where you read it - large volumes or not. I said that I only give my address to trusted family and friends, but what do I do for everything else, you ask? Usually Mailinator. Simple. Greg: Yes, I am aware that people do silly things like that but I also think, in most cases, that people are more aware these days, and don't do that as often as they did in the past. As you know, you often saw all the addresses in the "To:" line but that does seem to happen as much these days. If you have not included all the recipients in the "To:" line, but sent that email to more than one address, is that information to be found among the properties of the email? And can someone harvest that?	Roscoe (6288)
639748	2008-02-13 19:30:00	Roscoe, are you grumpy? That time of the month? Or perhaps you got out of bed on the wrong side all this week. You've been bitching and moaning about stuff all week. You have some rather messed up views on things, which is all good _if you don't force your opinions on others_. Know when you've been beaten. If you start posting about things you don't know much about, eg spam, you are not going to get a good reception. I do hope you actually read all of Bletch's post. Go gracefully.	wratterus (105)
639749	2008-02-13 20:00:00	Just look at her sig, shes angry at someone... probably men.	rob_on_guitar (4196)
639750	2008-02-13 20:08:00	Just look at her sig, shes angry at someone... probably men. :lol: :lol: :thumbs:	wratterus (105)
639751	2008-02-13 20:47:00	Just look at her sig, shes angry at someone... probably men.:illogical I'd be most surprised if either of you knew what it meant!:groan: Obviously not. What has that to do with being angry? Perhaps you have read something into that, that it does not say?:illogical	Roscoe (6288)
639752	2008-02-13 20:53:00	Oh yea that's it! I must not understand.... that must be more anger coming out...	rob_on_guitar (4196)
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