[Spambayes] Some thoughts and compliments :-)

[Joe Keith]

Thanks for your efforts on a very worthy project!  I've been exploring
Bayesian filtering as a possible anti-SPAM solution for my company, and I
encountered a link to the SpamBayes site in an InfoWorld article.  I'm
currently running the Outlook add-in and so far it's working very well.

Now, for a few thoughts & questions...  I'd really like to have a
company-wide solution that I can deploy and administer outside of the e-mail
client context (i.e., via web or other user interface).  The notes at the
spambayes site discuss the POP3 and SMTP proxy clients, but both of these
are discussed in the context of interaction with a single-user client.

My preference would be to implement SpamBayes at the point where e-mail
first arrives on my doorstep, namely between my SMTP server (Merak v6.0.3)
and the Internet.  On our SMTP server we host about 6 domains with about
50-60 users scattered across these domains.  In my desired model, incoming
SMTP mail would be delivered to the SpamBayes screener, and then, if
appropriate, passed along to the true SMTP server.

Of course, doing a bulk screen of ALL mail coming into a company sort of
begs some issues of confidentiality.  If an ISP were to screen in this
manner, SOMEONE would have to review the good/unsure/spam folders for
accuracy...and I don't know if I'm comfortable with an ISP employee reading
MY e-mail for spamminess :-)  But, at a private company such as ours,
presumably we could identify a couple of trusted individuals to administer
the process.

One question re. the SMTP proxy discussed in the online notes:  Could I turn
this module around "backwards" so that where the diagram now has "Outlook
Client" I could substitute "Internet"?  I.e., incoming mail to the company
would be delivered to the SMTP Proxy in a manner similar to OUTBOUND mail
from a typical Outlook client...  Does the SMTP proxy require individual
user authentication, or is it a pure don't-care-which-user SMTP screen?

Thanks again for your collective work on this project.  It is a great
contribution to the community of e-mail users!

Joe Keith
Atlanta Bonded Warehouse Corporation
3000 Cobb International Blvd
Kennesaw, GA 30152
Phone: 770-425-3000 x40
Fax: 770-424-1440
joe.keith at atlantabonded.com