Re: [Fwd: Wikibooks e-mail]Link spamming

On Fri, Mar 09, 2007 at 07:57:17PM -0700, Robert Horning wrote:
> If you are talking about a server administrator, who might that be?

The administrator of the server used to deliver the message. In some
cases there may be several on the way, in which case any or all may be
considered.

> This was sent via the web interface on en.wikibooks, of which I'm an administrator there.

Oh, that would be you then.

Essentially, we can either send a barrage of emails in the hope of
intimidating him. Or we could send out a single one informing him that
his actions are ill taken and will lead to his access termintated. I'm
assuming that we can create some sort of block block file barring him
access from using the email interface.

The rationale for the second is two-fold. Firstly, we maintain our
moral high ground. Were we to send him flood of emails we'd
effectively be sanctioning that there may be justification for
unsolicited emails (granted, he started it, but we're not at
kindergarten any more).

Secondly, a threat of being cut off may have much greater effect than
mere annoyance. As this is hardly a main personal account, the spamer
will probably not mind deleting a couple of dozen emails.

I would suggest that we find whoever is in the technological position
to implement blocks to the interface (Robert?) and urge anyone who
receives an UCE to contact that person. Each trangression will then
receive an authorative warning, possibly followed by a block, rather
than an angry tirade that is easily deleted or filtered away.

> My main point is that I believe that this individual has likely spammed privately several individuals on not only Wikibooks but other Wikimedia projects as well.

Checking this shouldn't be too difficult. Surely it is logged?

> My experience with yahoo is that they don't really care when these things get sent, and shutting down the account will do little good, as least from their perspective.

Which is why we need to solve it from our end. Sending a report each
time might, however, get some response in the long run.

> This is a throw-away e-mail account that is here one day and gone the next.

I'm not too sure, he'll have to monitor it for a while for responses.
Again, the logs would tell us more. Not sure what exactly you'd be
allowed for search for before breaching privacy, though. I guess
that's why you're the admin. :-)

Cheers,
Martin