[SpamCop-List] Re: No URL detected; Onlinereplicastore/Rolex spammer

[Mike Easter]

Larry J. wrote:
> "Mike Easter"
>> The problem here is that there is a bad headerline in the
>> submission, and there is a misleading Content-Type.
>
> This is ridiculous, and I've been saying so for as long as it's been
> a problem.

You can call it ridiculous if you want to, but non-compliant headerlines
in headers are going to create a problem, just like it will create a
problem if the content-type is misleading.  It is necessary for the
parser to parse the body by using content-type boundary information to
handle the plaintext like plaintext and html like html.

> I've seen no valid reason given why a bad header should stop spamcop
> from finding spam URLs in the message body.

What you should do is devise a parsing algorithm which can do what you
are talking about before you say you can't 'see a valid reason'.  Not
being able to see a valid reason why an algorithm can't do something
absent an understanding of what the algorithm is doing doesn't mean
anything.

> Reporting spam web sites is as important as reporting the spam
> origination, yet Spamcop fails to help at this.

Not that it negates the value of determining website spamvertiser
notifies, but the business of discovering the website in the spambody
has entirely different consequences than the discovery of the
spamsource.  There is a very important SCbl function attached to the
spamsource.

There is no such function attached to the discovery of the website url.
There are no spamcop or spamcop blocklist consequences to being a
spamvertiser.  There are spamcop blocklist consequences to being a
spamsource.

If a spamvertiser provider wanted to completely disregard spamcop
notifies it could, without penalty except for the consequence of the
sc-surbl exposure in the statistics.

SpamCop's 'power' is in its significance as a spamsource blocklister.
It has no power over the spamvertiser providers who are not whitehats
and 'anxious' to reform a spamvertiser.

The listing services for spamsupporters, ie spamvertisers, such as spews
are the lists which are the ones which the blackhatted spamvertisers
care about.  The blackhat spamvertisers don't care whether spamcop is
notifying them or not.  Because of that, spamcop allows the providers
who don't want to hear about spams to 'turn off' any notification of
spamvertising at all.

Spamcop's notification of spamvertisers is a courtesy, not a
disciplinary action.  Don't mistake SC notifies as being some kind of
'bludgeon' which 'forces' a spamvertiser to do something.  The SC notify
of a spamvertiser provider is a toothless gesture.  They can devnull it,
they can turn it off, they can disregard it however they like.

-- 
Mike Easter
kibitzer, not SC admin