Re: PR Problem?

Todd A. Jacobs wrote:
> On Sun, Nov 12, 2006 at 02:09:31PM -0800, Todd A. Jacobs wrote:
> 
>> twice if they have sender-pays on the server side. Just my $0.02, but
>> minting stamps really belongs in the MUA *unless* you have a dedicated
>> MTA for things like mailing lists or legitimate e-commerce.
> 
> Just a follow-up thought here: having mailing list software that could
> mint stamps (e.g. mailman) might generate some uptake, too. Probably not
> on high-volume lists, but lower-volume lists would probably be willing
> to implement it if it might reduce bounces from spam filters somewhere
> down the line.
> 

I was talking about this with a friend the other day and he said that I 
had already solved the problem (funny, I haven't seen it).

He runs a mailing list behind my twopenny blue filter.  It turns out 
that the friends list predicate is a surprisingly effective filter for 
mailing lists.  New users get stamps for the first message (or two) then 
they are white listed and they never get stamps from that point on.

One would think that the friends list would be redundant in the light of 
the mailing list "subscriber only" feature.  Both are important but both 
have different behavioral characteristics.  I'm not sure how it happens 
but I strip out of the vast majority of the messages and I cannot 
remember the last time a piece of spam got stuck in the mailing list trap.

So in reality, you don't need stamps and if you generate them with the 
right predicate, mailing lists operate unimpeded.

That's my experience.

---eric