RBL & greylisting on Ubuntu.com smtp

[Jan Claeys]

Op za, 17-06-2006 te 16:10 -0500, schreef Scott Dier:
> Still, I know SBL+XBL (spamhaus calls cbl as xbl) are considered to be 
> the best lists out there.  I know the university I work for will block 
> first-time connectors who are listed on these lists.  (they have an 
> exceptions system driven by user input and previous history)  The 
> deparment mailserver and personal mailservers all run sbl/xbl 
> (sbl-xbl.spamhaus.org), dsbl (list.dsbl.org), and the open proxy list 
> (opm.blitzed.org).  All are exceptionally well run and blackmarking the 
> cbl people for a small error is shortsighted.

A "small error" might block all mail from millions of people to millions
of other people for weeks.  And the more popular a blacklist is the more
people have problems in case of an error.  The problem is also that most
blacklist are maintained by people who think they know what they are
doing, but most of them even don't have the time to investigate problems
or fix errors.  And for some of the most-used blacklists you can be
listed because someone reports 3 spam mails going through your server,
but there is absolutely no check whether those reports are fake or real.
This is just an invite for abuse.

I'm not going to single out one blacklist--some might do their best--but
my experiences with many blacklists is that they only see their side of
the spam problem, and don't see they cause almost as many problems as
the spammers.

Also, note that I have no problem with anyone using such a blacklist on
their personal mailbox (like Lionel), but using it to block mailboxes of
other people without their express and informed consent isn't ethical
IMHO (it's essentially censoring their mail, even if it's with good
intentions!).


> bogofilter isn't a great solution for most people because it doesn't 
> pass the 'can my mom use this' test.  I can get office staff who are not 
> hugely computer proficient to use dspam through the web interface.  It 
> requires no changes to their client.

Your mom can't use the Bogofilter plugin for Evolution???


-- 
Jan Claeys