Unicycling mailing list changes performed to eliminate SPAM

I have been working hard trying to filter out SPAM, since installing the
new mailing list server over 2 1/2 years ago. I've decided to make more
drastic changes in an attempt to eliminate SPAM from the mailing list.

I have just made the following changes to the rec.sport.unicycling
mailing list:

1) The subscription list was viewable by subscription members only.
Now, it is no longer viewable by even subscription members.

2) Posting to the list was not restricted, so posts from the
rec.sport.unicycling newsgroup and the unicyclist.com forums were
accepted. Now, only mailing list members and people the admin puts
an approved list will have their post accepted by the mailing list
server. If you aren't currently a subscription member, please
subscribe so I don't have to manually put you on the approved list,
which could delay your posts to the mailing list by up to a day or
more. See http://www.unicycling.org/discuss/, go down to the "Join
the Unicycling Mailing List" paragraph and click on the "RSU info
page" link.

3) When posting to the mailing list address, the server left the From,
Sender And Reply-To headers intact. Now, those headers are removed
from the posts you send, so if you want people to contact you by
private e-mail, you will have to include your e-mail address
(modified or not to foil e-mail address harvesters) in the body of
your post.

Sincerely,

Ken Fuchs <kfuchs@winternet.com>

[johnfoss]

That sounds like some clever steps to help keep the spam out of our online community. Thanks for taking these additional steps to cut down on the spam!

Ken Fuchs wrote:
> 2) Posting to the list was not restricted, so posts from the
> rec.sport.unicycling newsgroup and the unicyclist.com forums were
> accepted. Now, only mailing list members and people the admin puts
> an approved list will have their post accepted by the mailing list
> server.

Does this mean that the gateway between rsu and the mailing list will
effectively close?

It seems to me to mean that in order for my posts to rsu to propagate to
the mailing list, I will need to subscribe to receive the list mail.
Which means that if I prefer newsgroups to mailing lists (which is one
reason why I voted in favour of rsu being formed in 1995) then I end up
getting everything twice.

Having a gateway between rsu and the mailing list is great, and I thank
you for providing it. It would be a great shame for its usefulness to
be impaired in any way.

> See http://www.unicycling.org/discuss/, go down to the "Join
> the Unicycling Mailing List" paragraph and click on the "RSU info
> page" link.

It's not clear (without actually subscribing) whether I can subscribe to
send only. Also, presumably I'll need to enter my newsgroup 'from'
address (which is not a valid e-mail address) as my subscriber address.
Is that correct?

(Actually that solves the problem of receiving everything twice, but I
can't help thinking I'd have trouble subscribing with an invalid
address).

So what I'm really asking for is a clear and obvious way for people to
add their names to the approved list (to save you the trouble of adding
people manually) without requiring address verification or subscribing
to receive list mail.

--
Danny Colyer (remove safety to reply) ( http://www.juggler.net/danny )
Recumbent cycle page: http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/recumbents/
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

[Gilby]

I think what has been done only affects mailing list users. Those on the forums and the newsgroup are not affected (except that there will be less spam coming through).

For the mailing list, only posts can get through if the "From" field of the email matches an email address that is subscribed to the list.

Danny, do you view the messages on the newsgroup and then send replies via the email list or the newsgroup? If you post to the newsgroup, you would not be affected by this. If you post to the email list (as might be the case if you have read-only access to the newsgroup), then you would not be able to post via the email list unless you subscribe to it. If anyone wants to read RSU through a newsreader that does not have access to post via a news server, I might be able to set up a news server on unicyclist.com for anyone that wants to use it. Let me know.

Gilby: Does this have anything to do with why the mailing list on my web
hosting account on your server has stopped working?

--Mark

--
Mark Newbold
Shelburne, Vermont USA
http://dogfeathers.com

[Gilby]

Originally posted by Mark Newbold
Gilby: Does this have anything to do with why the mailing list on my web
hosting account on your server has stopped working?

No, it's a totally separate list/server/setup. I'll email you.

>Ken Fuchs wrote:
>> 2) Posting to the list was not restricted, so posts from the
>> rec.sport.unicycling newsgroup and the unicyclist.com forums were
>> accepted. Now, only mailing list members and people the admin puts
>> an approved list will have their post accepted by the mailing list
>> server.

>Does this mean that the gateway between rsu and the mailing list will
>effectively close?

No.

It means that posts from only mailing list members and people on the
approved list will be allowed through the r.s.u newsgroup and mailing
list gateway. Spammers will not be allowed to use the gateway or post
SPAM on the mailing list.

>It seems to me to mean that in order for my posts to rsu to propagate to
>the mailing list, I will need to subscribe to receive the list mail.
>Which means that if I prefer newsgroups to mailing lists (which is one
>reason why I voted in favour of rsu being formed in 1995) then I end up
>getting everything twice.

You can subscribe yourself, if you have a valid address, and select the
no mail option if you don't want to receive mail from the mailing list.
This will allow your posts to pass through the gateway in either
direction (r.s.u -> mailing list or mailing list -> r.s.u).

>> See http://www.unicycling.org/discuss/, go down to the "Join
>> the Unicycling Mailing List" paragraph and click on the "RSU info
>> page" link.

>It's not clear (without actually subscribing) whether I can subscribe to
>send only. Also, presumably I'll need to enter my newsgroup 'from'
>address (which is not a valid e-mail address) as my subscriber address.
>Is that correct?

If your e-mail address is invalid or (purposely) malformed to avoid
SPAM, I will add it to the approved list. Since, I may have to do this
for hundreds of e-mail addresses, your posts may be delayed at the
gateway until I can manually update the approved list. It may take a
few days before the gateway is running without such administrative
delays.

Sincerely,

Ken Fuchs <kfuchs@winternet.com>
unicycling (rsu) mailing list owner & rec.sport.unicycling proponent
mailto:rsu-request@unicycling.org?subject=help
http://www.unicycling.org/mailman/listinfo/rsu/
news:rec.sport.unicycling

> 3) When posting to the mailing list address, the server left the From,
> Sender And Reply-To headers intact. Now, those headers are removed
> from the posts you send, so if you want people to contact you by
> private e-mail, you will have to include your e-mail address
> (modified or not to foil e-mail address harvesters) in the body of
> your post.

Many people like to know via the From, Sender and Reply-To headers who
sent a post. Also, since almost all posters already hide their true
e-mail address (this is done automatically for forum users), I've
changed back to passing the From, Sender and Reply-To headers along
unchanged.

Sincerely,

Ken Fuchs <kfuchs@winternet.com>
unicycling (rsu) mailing list owner & rec.sport.unicycling proponent
mailto:rsu-request@unicycling.org?subject=help
http://www.unicycling.org/mailman/listinfo/rsu/
news:rec.sport.unicycling

Ken Fuchs wrote:
> If your e-mail address is invalid or (purposely) malformed to avoid
> SPAM, I will add it to the approved list. Since, I may have to do
this
> for hundreds of e-mail addresses, your posts may be delayed at the
> gateway until I can manually update the approved list. It may take a
> few days before the gateway is running without such administrative
> delays.

Thanks, that's pretty much what I thought. Since I don't wish to post
to usenet using an un-mangled address, I will need to be manually added
to the approved list. I'd hoped to be able to do it myself, on the
basis that everyone who added themselves would save you a little time.

But of course there would be problems inherent in allowing people to
sign themselves up to the approved list, because there would be nothing
to stop spammers from doing the same.

--
Danny Colyer (remove safety to reply) ( http://www.juggler.net/danny )
Recumbent cycle page: http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/recumbents/
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

Gilby wrote:
> Danny, do you view the messages on the newsgroup and then send replies
> via the email list or the newsgroup? If you post to the newsgroup, you
> would not be affected by this.

I always read and post via the newsgroup. My interpretation of what
Ken's written is that this means my posts won't propagate to the mailing
list until Ken adds me to the approved list. I don't know how many
people will be in the same situation, but obviously it makes more work
for Ken, so I was just looking for a way to save him some work by
signing myself up to the approved list.

--
Danny Colyer (remove safety to reply) ( http://www.juggler.net/danny )
Recumbent cycle page: http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/recumbents/
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine

Sorry, I still don't get it. Like Danny Colyer, I (mostly) read and
post via the usenet newsgroup. Will my posts propagate to the mailing
list without me subscribing to it?

As a matter of interest, how many people use the mailing list as their
(primary) means of accessing this user community?

Klaas Bil - Newsgroup Addict
--
Grizzly bear droppings have bells in them and smell like pepper spray. - UniBrier

klaasbil_remove_the_spamkiller_@xs4all.nl (Klaas Bil) wrote:

>Sorry, I still don't get it. Like Danny Colyer, I (mostly) read and
>post via the usenet newsgroup. Will my posts propagate to the mailing
>list without me subscribing to it?

Yes. They are propagating just fine.

>As a matter of interest, how many people use the mailing list as their
>(primary) means of accessing this user community?

I don't know about primary access, but there are about 80 people
subscribed to the unicycling mailing list.

Sincerely,

Ken Fuchs <kfuchs@winternet.com>
unicycling (rsu) mailing list owner & rec.sport.unicycling proponent
mailto:rsu-request@unicycling.org?subject=help
http://www.unicycling.org/mailman/listinfo/rsu/
news:rec.sport.unicycling