Messages in this thread | | | Date | Thu, 19 Aug 1999 07:38:46 -0700 | From | Mitchell Blank Jr <> | Subject | Re: Anti-SPAM Suggestion... |
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OK, here's how to *really* fix this problem:
1. Allow posting to a vger list only if the user is subscribed to SOME mailing list at vger. For instance, if you are subscribed to linux-scsi, then you can also post to linux-kernel. That way its easy for threads to be crossposted. 2. For people that need to post regularly but are not subscribed to a vger mailing list (they read the mailing list through some exploder/gateway; they're subscribed at a different address; they participate in a non-vger mailing list that often has crossposted threads) start a new mailing list "zerotraffic@vger". This mailing list will have NO postings (the address won't even really exist), but will be there just to allow a user to subscribe to a vger list. 3. When a user not on a vger list posts to vger they'll get a bounce message like the following:
| Your posting to linux-foo@vger.rutgers.edu could NOT be processed | because the email address it came from (user@domain.com) is not | subscribed to a mailing list at this site. There are several | methods of fixing this however: | | o Resend your posting to: | linux-foo-auth-a0d0cd4f8a237f9cb5caf806c83d471f@vger.rutgers.edu | The message will then be accepted. You can use this address to | send postings in the future, but note that it will only work | for messages sent from this email address. | | o Subscribe to this mailing list by sending a message with | the command "subscribe linux-foo" to majordomo@vger.rutgers.edu | and follow the instructions that will be mailed back to you. | | o Add your email address to our list of unsubscribed addresses | which are allowed to post here by sending the command | "subscribe zerotraffic" to majordomo@vger.rutgers.edu. | This is not a real mailing list - it receives no traffic - it | is only used to keep a list of people not subscribed to | a mailing list here who want to post. Again, follow the | instructions that will be mailed back to you to complete | your subscription. | | We apologize for this inconvenience in handling your mail, and look forward | to your re-submission. Also, remember to read the frequently-asked-questions | list for this mailing list at: | http://www.example.edu/FAQs/linux-foo/ | There is a very good chance that your question is answered there, and it | contains helpful tips on what information to include in your posting if | you are reporting a problem. | | For your reference, here is the mail you tried to send that did not | go through: [...]
The "a0d0cd4f8a237f9cb5caf806c83d471f" is a MD5 hash of the user's envelope sender and a secret string only known to vger. Thus, in order to send to the mailing list you must have completed some form of three-way-handshake -- either a verified subscribe (we do these now, don't we?) or by receiving the above email.
Note that to allow easy replying, the mailing list should strip any reference to "-auth-......" in the headers.
Advantages: * Still mostly-open posting. There's only a small inconvenience for those who want to post a bug report. Also, there's a mechanism for people who aren't subscribed to post easily. * Essentially impossible to subscribe a vger mailing list to any other mailing list. * Gives a good chance to send back a "read the FAQ" message to people reporting bugs. Should improve the quality of bug reports sent by non-subscribers (which is obviously a big problem here). * NO HUMAN MODERATORS. (It's hard to make that work right anyway)
Disadvantages: * User's can't post from a envelope-sender-address that they can't receive mail at. This is obviously unavoidable, since that's the crux of the problem. The only person I remember who does this is Mr. Parsons.
Comments?
-Mitch
- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.rutgers.edu Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/
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