[SC-Help] Re: Newbie slightly confused

[Mike Easter]

John Tempest wrote:
> I am using the OLSpamCop macro to submit spam to spamcop.net. When I
> receive the "spamcop has accepted 1 email for processing" email, I
> select the link to see the analyzed email.

Anatomy of a 'proper' parse
-1- Spam header [tracker^1, header, view message]
    Tracker: looks like
www.spamcop.net/sc?id=z433009069zd7e7d541b103a83304f23ac48967ec10z and
represents everything about the spam and the parse.  Posting such a
tracker into the newsgroup saves you from having to describe or post
anything about a spam;  *very* useful.
   Header + View message

-2- Parsing header: verbose logic
   Subsections corresponding to the parser chaining the header Received
lines, tracking the msg source, finding links in body and resolving
obfuscation and finding IP and its contacts, + another view full message

-3-  Report spam: optional check boxes, optional notes and comments and
optional preview, send, or cancel reports


Anatomy of a normal tracker link compared to above
-1- Same;  spam header + tracker + view entire
-2- Same;  parsing header logic + subsections above
-3- Different:  If reported today, reports would be sent to - itemized
recommendations resembling 3 above, but no options to check, report, or
cancel or anything.


^1 Tracker url:  A unique link corresponding to the spamitem and parse
of the configuration www.spamcop.net.sc?id=z9dz32anz where z9dz32anz =
[z + 9 digits + z + 32 alphanumerics + z continuous]

> Secondly, there is a lot of jargon,

Jargon is often a perjorative term whose meaning ranges from
'specialist' to pretentious or meaningless language.  It is necessary to
use terms appropriate for this /specialty/.

> Is there an FAQ somehwere that
> explains the analysis on a line by line basis, to indicate to a
> newbie like me what is actually going on?

No, but this is a good place to learn it, little bit by little bit.

> Thirdly, I get about 150-200 spam emails a day (and that excludes
> lists that I have signed up for). I don't see how I can afford the
> time to deal with all of them through SpamCop. The real question is
> it worth all the effort?

Reporting with SpamCop will -1- feed the SCbl, spamcop blocklist aiding
those who use it to filter better -2- notify providers more
'efficiently' than you could do yourself, but not necessarily better.
It will likely not reduce your spamload;  and handling spam badly to
report it can increase spam.


-- 
Mike Easter
kibitzer, not SC admin