I was looking through my spam report and noted that apparently you have (or
at least use) some secondary mailing list set up for procmail which
crossposts into the procmail list. Let's call it a mirror which happens to
relay posts through procmail.
I have a couple of (big) issues with this:
1. Procmail (the main list) already doesn't verify posts, which makes
it rather vulnerable to spam, as discussed many times in the
past. Does this alternate list protect against such abuse on
posts directly to it, or is it now ANOTHER venue for people to
spam to, meaning procmailers can expect to see double spam when
the list is relayed?
2. Because of #1, I'm given to understand that many regular readers,
myself included, have BCC filters SPECIFICALLY for procmail --
when a message is relayed by the procmail list, but the list
isn't actually shown as an addressee, in the past this has
ALWAYS been a sign of spam. This mirror list matches that rule
and for all intents and purposes, appears to be this spam.
Because this bayview mirror list posts through as a BCC (and in fact replies
people post go to it, and not to the regular procmail list), people who
have been successfully filtering spam relays out of Procmail aren't seeing
this other traffic.
When someone using the mirror posts an article or reply, that message, as
well as all followups to it, are subject to the relay filtering that people
use to block spam from the procmail list.
If someone did this to one of the mailing lists I run, I'd add rules to
bounce the mirror mail in a heartbeat. This isn't about facism or being a
control freak - it is about CONSISTENCY. And being made aware of things
which are essentially large functional changes to the list, being made by
outsiders.
And I've got to ask, why is it the FIRST notice of *ANY* bayview.com
address on this list is when a mirror has been created? On all outward
appearances, the mirror was created by someone who just this week
subscribed to this list. No discussion, no announcement, no permission.
No way.
I adamantly refuse to rewrite my procmail spam filter to permit abuse via
an unauthorized mirror list.
If you MUST have a mirror/relay for some technical issue, at least rewrite
your mirror it so that the posts and followups come through the REAL
procmail list (complete with visible addressing and followups directly to
informatik) and not yours. If you want to keep your anonimity, there are
plenty of ways to go about it without resorting to something which is just
shy of hijacking the list.
---
Please DO NOT carbon me on list replies. I'll get my copy from the list.
Sean B. Straw / Professional Software Engineering
Post Box 2395 / San Rafael, CA 94912-2395