[SpamCop-List] Re: block HTML = block spam?

[PopRivet]

OUCH!  Some coments inline, others at the end, if I
understand this right:

"Jim Seymour" <jseymour at spamcop.net> wrote in message
news:c0jit2$h76$1 at news.spamcop.net...
| Robert wrote:
| > When we upgrade the network here we're also going
to update the mail server, and
| > I'm going to recommend bouncing all email
containging "http:" or "https:" in its
| > text. With this rule I'm expecting this to block
98%+ of all spam, while still
| > allowing legitimate senders to send links by
leaving out the "http:". [...]

<snip>.
|
| This rejection will be seen by the sending server and
(for legitimate
| senders) a bounce message will still be generated and
sent back.  The
| spammers will see the rejection as well, of course,

Uhhh, NO, the spammers will NOT get the bounced message
back!!  Well, the ones that work to the CAN SOPAM act
would, IFF any of them followed it.  But none do in my
experience.  Very few real spammers leave a trace that
will get back to the spammer.  MUCH MORE likely that
some poor Innocent Bystander, "innocent" being the key
word there, will get the "bounce".  A huge percentage
of spam has a forged sender's data in it these days.
Almost all spam has forged headers, so the only place
the bounces will probably get to will be the innocent
(usually, not always) forged sender OR server admin,
who is already well bogged down in the spewing feces of
other spam!

|
| A better solution, in my opinion, is to use a more
advanced content
| filter (such as Spam Assassin with bayesian filters)
and train it to
| recognize which links are "spammy" and which aren't.

Dunno if the above is practical from a traffic/machine
time viewpoint, but it sounds a lot better on the
surface, that's for sure!

Bouncing will:
--  Double the spam traffic on YOUR lines, your server,
your machine time, and your server's servers, etc..
--  Require a Send for every Receipt that's spam -
usually something well over 90% once it gets
established.
--  Irritate innocent bystanders to no end when you get
the repetitive spams/list sells.
--  Probably get you reported for spamming.  Phoney
Bounces are one form of spam now going around.
--  Probably give you a certain amount of job security
since it'll take a lot of time and effort to keep
things running, keep the records, and respond to all
the complaints you receive.

Why don't you consider the many bl's available?  Why
increase traffic or reinvent wheels when good tools are
already available.

|
| -- 
| Jim Seymour.
| I do not work for Spamcop, I did not write pflogsumm,
| and I never wrote for PC Magazine.

I don't know a lot about running servers so I'm not a
good reference, but there are several guys here that
will probably jump in with some good advice.  I highly
recommend watching the responses for a few days and see
what turns up.  Youj're in good company wanting to
control your own real estate that way and I sure hope
you are successful.

Regards,

Pop