[Mailman-Users] How to stop spam emails

[Cyndi Norwitz]

   Date: Sun, 9 Dec 2007 22:19:50 -0800
   From: Mark Sapiro <mark at msapiro.net>

   So if I understand, you want spam filtering to apply only to
   non-members who aren't in accept_these_nonmembers.

That would be my preference.  But I would accept any form of spam filtering
and then simply work with it to reduce my workload as much as possible.

   You aren't going to be able to do that unless sonic installs the
   SpamAssassin patch referred to earlier in this thread or something
   similar.

   What that patch allows is setting a SpamAssassin 'hold' score and a
   SpamAssassin 'discard' score and a member bonus for being a member or
   in accept_these_nonmembers. If you set the member bonus high enough,
   no member post would ever be held or discarded.

This would work.

   The problem with that is those settings are global, not per-list. The
   patch could always be modified to make the settings per-list, but that
   makes it less likely you'd ever see it installed.

Nodding.  There are pros and cons to not running your own server.  

As for whether or not I actually see false positives...yes, I got several a
week from my list posts alone.  On lists that totalled a couple hundred
legit posts a week.  The spam filter would catch them not just for medical
words but for being from the wrong ISP or setting up their email program
not quite right, using the wrong phrase, and so forth.

Cyndi