challenge-response antispam systems in the BTS (was Re: Spam fights)

[Adeodato Simó <asp16@alu.ua.es>]

  [this is offtopic here, but since the issue was raised on d-security,
  I thought I'd follow up there and move to d-devel if it's worth a
  discussion.]

* Dmitry Golubev [Thu, 10 Jun 2004 12:27:04 +0300]:

> On Thursday 10 June 2004 11:58, Russell Coker <russell@coker.com.au> wrote:
> > On Thu, 10 Jun 2004 18:21, Jaroslaw Tabor <jarek@srv.pl> wrote:

> > > For unknown sender, automated confirmation request is send. If

> > My response to these scumbags who send me the confirmation messages is that
> > if they are on a mailing list I'm on then I black-list their email address
> > if it's known (or their mail server if their email address is not clear). 
> > If a confirmation message appears to be in response to a virus then I
> > respond to it.  Let the scumbag get another copy of the virus...

> > > I'm planning to develop this feauture, but It will be nice to hear from
> > > what you thing about this idea.

> > Don't do it.  Confirmation systems are just as bad as the problems that
> > they try to solve.

> I second that. If I receive a confirmation message I never respond to it! 
> (well, when I first received such a message, I wanted to try how it works - 
> that was the only confirmation I responded to). Maybe that's impolite, but I 
> do not want to waste my time answering to that spam.

    has it been discussed before the usage of such systems by bug
    submitters? I've come up with this situation twice or so, and I
    found myself thinking "what the hell, they're putting extra work on
    *anybody* wanting to help with *their* problem!"

    so, do you think an address with such system qualifies as non-valid
    for the BTS? for me, I guess, it's pretty as if they had posted with
    "no-response-expected@canthearyou.there" in the From: line.

    OTOH, if all mail to the submitter was sent to nnn-submitter@b.d.o,
    the user could whitelist owner@b.d.o, but this is not common
    practice ATM and would also prevent us from stating our dislike for
    such systems.

    any thoguths?

-- 
Adeodato Simó
    EM: asp16 [ykwim] alu.ua.es | PK: DA6AE621
 
As an adolescent I aspired to lasting fame, I craved factual certainty,
and I thirsted for a meaningful vision of human life -- so I became a
scientist. This is like becoming an archbishop so you can meet girls.
                -- Matt Cartmill