Re: [Asrg] Please critique my anti-spam system

On 2005-01-09 14:36:01 -0500, Michael Kaplan wrote:
> > Again you are assuming that everybody will be using the same system.
> > How can the mailing list software know that they are a single entity?
> > After all <peter(_dot_)holzer(_at_)wsr(_dot_)(_dot_)(_dot_)> and 
> > <peter(_dot_)janecek(_at_)wsr(_dot_)(_dot_)(_dot_)> aren't two
> > mail addresses of the same person, either. One is mine, the other
> > belongs to a colleague two doors down the hall.
> When my system is activated all existing addresses are grandfathered in.
> Now peter(_dot_)holzer(_at_)wsr as an individual activates my system
No, he doesn't. Please stop assuming that everybody will use your system
immediately. Even if your system wins out eventually, there will be many
years where a significant portion of the email users don't use it. Also
you must assume that there will be competing systems. So maybe the WSR
will adopt a system where subaddresses are constructed with '+' as a
delimiter, and AON will use one where subaddresses are constructed with
'-' as a delimiter. (And others will maybe use / or $ or whatever)

> and he can use any sub-address he wants except the system will not
> allow him to use "janecek."  Now no one else can establish an account
> with a peter(_dot_)????(_at_)wsr address.
Which would be unacceptable, given a company policy that everybody
should have an email address of the form <firstname(_dot_)lastname(_at_)domain> 
and
the number of Peters around here.


> Now back to original question:  How will a mailing list handle this?
> Well, obviously both peter(_dot_)holzer(_at_)wsr and 
> peter(_dot_)janecek(_at_)wsr must
> register for the same mailing list.  Both will receive the list
> mail in an unimpeded manner.
Or maybe the second one will receive an error message telling him that
he is already subscribed.

> The only problems I see is that peter(_dot_)holzer(_at_)wsr can register, and 
> then
> peter(_dot_)janecek(_at_)wsr can post to the list without registering.
He may also be able to do other things like unsubscribe or change
preferences.

> We are just talking about a mailing list here, what's the big deal if
> this happens.
Some mailing-lists are not public.

> Peter(_dot_)holzer(_at_)wsr can complain to list operator and get 
> peter(_dot_)janecek(_at_)wsr
> deactivated if this is such a big deal.
How do you deactivate an address which isn't even subscribed? Add a
special blacklist? Yet another special feature to maintain (for both the
software author and every mailing list operator). I expect that
mailing-list software authors will not implement any special support for
subaddresses, and even if they do, mailing-list operators will disable
it, because it causes them trouble and they think that it's the users'
job to get their mail-address right, not the operator's job to handle
lots of special cases.

        hp

-- 
   _  | Peter J. Holzer    | Je höher der Norden, desto weniger wird
|_|_) | Sysadmin WSR       | überhaupt gesprochen, also auch kein Dialekt.
| |   | hjp(_at_)hjp(_dot_)at         | Hallig Gröde ist fast gänzlich 
dialektfrei.
__/   | http://www.hjp.at/ |   -- Hannes Petersen in desd

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