** Sometime around 09:30 1/23/97, Kit Knox said:
Cross-posting this to list-managers and listmom-talk, since the [non-spam]
getting-mail-to-the-prospective-subscriber issue might be of interest
over there. For you list* readers, this message appeared on the SPAM-L
mailing list.
>Just received this odd spam. Looks like it came through a dial-in so its
>not real high volume. How "spike@teenpaper.org" got to me is unknown.
You were BCCed. Many MTAs will not accept mail if there is not at least
ONE legitimate address on the "TO" line, and many spammers are apparently
starting to figure that out.
On an interesting, related note: Someone recently contacted me to say that
he'd subscribed to HumourNet but wasn't getting any mail. I checked the
subscribers file; he was in there, just fine. I unsubbed and resubbed him
(ListProc undocumented "feature"; don't axe me, but it seems to work in
most cases like this*); still no go. But WE were exchanging mail just fine.
Long story short: Ran a bunch of 'spermints, and it turns out that his
company's MTA apparently rejects ALL mail in which the company domain name
does not appear on the TO line. A very interesting approach, though one
that makes it a little difficult for employees to subscribe to mailing
lists. (Oh, now don't go extolling the virtues of putting subscriber
addresses onthe "To" line; I don't want to be responsible for opening THAT
can of worms. ;-)
Of course, being unable to receive MLM-generated mail at work is probably
the *point* of that setup. <g> But it also provides a great deal of
collateral protection from spam.
* For the list* mailing lists: That "undocumented feature" of listproc was
probably more a function of the pathetically poorly-managed server I was
on several months ago. The listproc I've been on since October has had no
such inexplicable problems and/or strange solutions (such as the one I
noted above). As always, YMMV, and typically varies according to the level
of competence at the server-management end.
- Vince S.
wavelet@colossus.arl.mil
<http://www.humournet.com/HumourNet/>
--
For info on HumourNet--the Internet's moderated mailing list for humor--
send the command INFO HUMORNET (only one U) to listproc@csf.colorado.edu
--
<http://www.vix.com/spam/> Because The Only GOOD Spammer is a DEAD Spammer
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