Re: Spam: process the web archives?

[Matthew Garrett <mgarrett@chiark.greenend.org.uk>]

In chiark.mail.debian.devel, you wrote:
>While munging email addressess is controversial (I support it,
>spammers tend to use the easisest sources, so making address harvesting
>harder will move them elsewhere)

This is a somewhat selfish and short-termist attitude. If some people
obfuscate their addresses, they win *only while there are people do not
obfuscate their addresses*. The people who do not obfuscate their
addresses find themselves getting even more spam than they would
otherwise do, and so by obfuscating your address you hurt me. In the
long run everyone obfuscates their address and the spammers have to
develop software that's a bit cleverer at determining addresses, and
then we're right back where we started except that it's harder to email
people. What's the point?

-- 
Matthew Garrett | mjg59-chiark.mail.debian.devel@srcf.ucam.org