Re: [cobalt-users] Spam blocking

[Jeff Lasman <blists@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Wednesday 21 January 2004 06:30 pm, Tom Cameron wrote:

> I agree with this too. My practice is to not block the spam but to
> deliver it with an adjusted subject line so that the client can
> filter out the spam at their end. This does not reduce my server load
> but it does help the client. I'm using SpamAssassin for this.

SpamAssassin is a great tool and we offer it to our clients.  But we'd 
rather they use blocklists.

Blocklists  take huge loads off our servers.  SpamAssassin adds huge 
loads to our servers.

> The main reason I do this is for legal reasons. As a hosting company
> I have a duty to my customers to deliver their mail. While I don't
> make any silly 100% guarantees, I do consider this a duty I must aim
> to fulfil.

Which is why we offer our clients the opportunity to either use them or 
not use them.

Most clients who opt for SpamAssassin and see that they still get all 
the spam and still have to figure out what to do with it, end up going 
the RBL route.

The few who get accidentally blocked (last year it was only two or 
three) simply go to "http://www.spamblocked.net/"; (see my previous 
email); they don't even need to know which list blocked them, and we 
whitelist them.

> If I were to decide what mail a client gets or does not
> get then I could be breaching my responsibilities and potentially
> subject to litigation. It would be like US Post opening up all your
> mail and deciding which ones you want to get - naturally you would be
> pretty pissed if that happened.

We don't open any mail; we refuse using blocklists before we even get 
the mail; we do it at recpt time.

The blocklists I listed in a previous post block approximately 10,000 
pieces of spam from one server every day.  And that's without forcing 
everyone to use it.

Believe me, your hosting clients would most likely prefer a solution 
that kept the spam away from them rather than one that just marked it.  
Ours do, overwhelmingly.

Jeff
-- 
Jeff Lasman, nobaloney.net, P. O. Box 52672, Riverside, CA  92517 US
Professional Internet Services & Support / Consulting / Colocation
Our blists address used on lists is for list email only
Phone +1 909 324-9706, or see: "http://www.nobaloney.net/contactus.html";