Re: What to do about spam in debian-user [was: Your Password Reset Link from CorrLinks]
On Thursday 21 February 2019 11:20:52 tomas@tuxteam.de wrote:
> On Thu, Feb 21, 2019 at 08:21:00AM -0500, Gene Heskett wrote:
> > On Thursday 21 February 2019 03:59:37 tomas@tuxteam.de wrote:
> > > On Thu, Feb 21, 2019 at 11:45:50AM +0300, Reco wrote:
> > >
> > > [...]
> > >
> > > > You can also help us by bouncing (as in mutt) spam to
> > > > report-listspam@lists.debian.org
> > >
> > > Thanks
> > > -- t
> >
> > This _might_ be a good idea, if that address took forwards. My
> > incoming chain does not include the ability to do other than accept,
> > then divert to /var/mail/virii or /dev/null. But my one attempt to
> > forward to that address when debians poor spam/viri filters failed
> > often enough to get my attention several years ago, resulted in its
> > being bounced back to me
>
> I do it all the time (perhaps twice a week). No problems so far.
>
> > Don't give me, or my current ISP a hard time because their spam
> > filtering is far better then debians.
>
> This only shows that you still have much to learn about spam :-)
>
> Filtering for an open list with roughly 600 subscribers is far more
> difficult than filtering for one person, since the breadth of topics
> and styles for non-spam is significantly higher. This is a real
> challenge for statistical filters.
>
> I think that, given the constraints, Debian list spam filters aren't
> bad.
>
> "The Debian Listmasters do their best to stop as many such
> emails as possible from reaching the lists. On a typical day,
> over 40,000 such messages are blocked." [1]
>
> > I get very little spam from them because they do active bouncing,
> > using barracuda I believe,
>
> *spit*
>
> A couple of times I had the "honor". Dunno whether it was a bad
> sysadmin or barracuda itself. Not a nice souvenir, mind you.
>
> [...]
>
> > But if all it generates is bounces, why bother? That just serves to
> > prove to me that debian has zero interest in containing UCE. Since I
> > don't set the rules, or write the checks for debian, that just how
> > it is.
>
> See above. If you go to the below reference, you even get to
> propose SpamAssassin rules to the Debian list masters. I'm
> sure they can use some help. They're volunteers, after all.
>
> Saying they have "zero interest" (even if they not only do the
> heavy lifting of filtering out 40K spams /a day/, but also document
> what they are doing, for your and my reading convenience, all at
> no cost, on a volunteer basis) is offensive.
>
> > But redirecting the blame to me or my ISP because debians filtering
> > is poor [...]
>
> Repeat with me:
> - you don't bounce spam at all, because you're bouncing to
> the wrong address anyway, thus just enhancing the problem.
>
Spam should be sent to /dev/null. I've no argument with that at all.
> (There is still a reason to bounce a (legitimate) mail,
> but NEVER-EVER when you think it's spam).
>
> - you don't reject to mailing lists: they'll conclude that
> you have delivery problems and unsubscribe you.
Tell that to Shentel.net, I gotten hoarse just trying to make them let
fetchmail nuke what its pulled. But too many dummies use the same via
imap, and get pissed when their message disappears, so us fetchmail
users take it on the chin by being forced to login in with a browser
daily and cleaning house.
> This is common consensus, and for a reason. If your provider isn't
> doing that, they ain't pros and are just pissing in our common well.
>
> Sorry for being so clear, but I feel strongly about mail: it's the
> last means of communication left where I have the choice of client
> software, the other stuff being "antisocial networks", where some
> random web designer gets to decide what I see and how. I hope I die
> before this dystopia is upon us (I'm old, mind you).
So am I tomas, currently 84 TBE.
>
> Cheers
>
> [1] https://www.debian.org/MailingLists/#ads
> -- tomás
Cheers, Gene Heskett
--
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>
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