[SC-Help] Re: What's wrong now, Spamcop?

[Garen Erdoisa]

Mike Easter wrote:
> Garen Erdoisa wrote:
> 
>> The spamtrap data is not included on the statistics charts they make
>> available to the public.
> 
> How do you know that?  I always assumed that it did.  Or rather that the
> statistics were some 'subset' of the total spam processed, but not

Quote from http://members.spamcop.net/spamstats.shtml
<quote>
These graphs show the number of messages submitted as spam along with 
the number of reports consumated regarding those messages. This data 
reflects more about SpamCop's usage patterns than it does about the 
spam. These numbers now reflect only a small fraction of total spam 
being processed by SpamCop, but they are still representative of the total.
</quote>

It's pretty clear to me with that statement on the website that the 
graphs do not include spamtrap data or data from other sources.

Combine that with what Don D'Minion just admitted in his post further up 
in this thread about spamcop processing about 3 million emails per day, 
the rest is deductive reasoning based on the information I have available.

> necessarily the subset corresponding to a subset of reporter only
> reports and excluding spamtraps.  One sentence on the stats page sez
> "These numbers now reflect only a small fraction of total spam being
> processed by SpamCop, but they are still representative of the total."
> 
> One observation supporting your no spamtrap data is that if you look at
> today's stats, the number of reports about equals the number of spams -- 
> so if you say that spamtraps don't generate a report, then that
> observation would correlate with no spamtraps in the stats.
> 
> But if you look at a year or other longer period than a day, you see
> that the reports exceed the number of spams significantly -- so then the
> presumption becomes that of saying that any given spam generates a
> number of reports.  Then, before you presume too much, you have to ask
> how the reports are counted.  If a report goes to 4 addresses, is that 4
> reports or 1?  Or 2?  One about source?  X addresses about source?  Y
> addresses about spamvertiser?
> 
> So then, once you/I start realizing that I don't know how we are
> counting reports, then it becomes possible for spamtraps to be in the
> mix of the statistics even tho' they don't generate reports.  Or, is a
> 'report' a reported spamsource contributing to the SCbl even if nothing
> is mailed?  If so, then spamtraps would generate a reported spamsource
> 'report' non-report just like a quickreport generates a spamsource
> report /and/ a mailed report to the spamsource provider.  Maybe a report
> is anything that has a reportid number, and presumably even a spamtrap
> report has a reportid.
> 
> To me, there are a lot of unknowns about how the stats are generated,
> and since the admins don't care to elaborate on the mechanics, everyone
> ends up guessing based on assumptions which may or not be valid.

Don D'Minion just stated in his post further up in this thread that 
spamcop process about 3 million spams per day. Again, the rest is just 
deductive reasoning. He's posting as a spamcop admin, so I would tend to 
trust his statement as being somewhat factual since he does have access 
to insider knowledge.

> 
>> Those charts mostly indicate spamcop usage
>> patterns by people, not total spam processed by spamcop,
> 
> 

Garen