Rich - spam (or junk mail) is your server's fault...they don't use a filter. You need to change from speednetllc.com. I have Infowest, and never receive spam. Infowest filters spam...and I don't have a fire-wall on my computer. I have Nortons to scan, but doubt that I need it. JanC ----- Original Message ----- From: "RichBoyd" <richboyd@speednetllc.com> To: <CLANBOYD-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, September 15, 2004 7:57 AM Subject: [ClanBoyd] A message about spam from Listowner > This is fairly long but is very informative and well worth reading. My guess is 95 percent > of my email is spam. I just live with that fact and delete it. It is tiring and tedious > but I believe the only real solution as I don't want to miss one single email that might help > me find some new data on my family. My spamblocker puts the spam in a spam file > and I check everyone to make certain it is not something important. > > <<<<<<< > 1. NEWS AND NOTES > 1a. Spamblocker: Solution May Be the Problem > > Lucy Lister is probably a lot like you. She started doing her family > history research a few years ago when her grandma passed away and she > was going through the attic at the old family house. > > She located some ancient unlabeled family photos and the Bible with all > the family vital records listed in it. Lucy had many questions -- who > were these people -- in the photos and in the family Bible? She decided > to learn as much as she could about her family history, so she booted up > her computer and away she surfed. > > Lucy discovered the RootsWeb mailing lists: http://lists.rootsweb.com/ > and used the index to subscribe to several lists for surnames, > locations, and topics she found in the items in her grandma's attic. > She had some questions about fraternal organizations mentioned in old > family records, organizations her grandpa had apparently belonged to. > She wondered about the original owner of the Civil War era boot she > found in a cobwebbed corner of the attic and the old sword with the > initials R.H.M. engraved on the handle she located tucked away up in the > rafter. She had numerous questions, but found many knowledgeable people > willing to help her find the answers. > > Lucy also posted queries on the RootsWeb message boards: > http://boards.rootsweb.com/ to reach a wider audience. She was even able > to include a photo of the old boot and the sword plus a scan of the > family Bible record with her post on the boards. > > Lucy learned more and more details, names and dates, and eventually > posted her surnames on RootsWeb Surname List: http://rsl.rootsweb.com/ > And when she had enough information compiled from what she learned on > the lists and boards, she uploaded a GEDCOM (Genealogical Data > COMmunication) file, created by her computer genealogy program, to > RootsWeb's WorldConnect: http://wc.rootsweb.com/ > > Time went by and Lucy received many valuable replies with additional > information from new-found cousins and also from unrelated individuals > who knew about the fraternal organizations to which her granddad had > belonged. A sword collector was able to date the era during which the > sword was made and even identify the manufacturer. It was literally > amazing how much Lucy Lister learned from her involvement in online > sources and in such a short time. > > She still had plenty she wanted to learn. However, a new foe stood in > Lucy's path--causing her problems as she tried to sort her incoming e- > mails each day. This intruder -- SPAM -- was entering her mailbox with > increasing frequency. Lucy realized that RootsWeb was not responsible > for this spam and she also knew she had plastered her e-mail address all > over the Net in her attempts to learn about her family. Alas, spam seem > to be an inevitable offshoot of doing genealogical research online. If > you want to learn anything and get responses from others--you need to > supply a means by which they can reach you. > > With this confounded spam becoming more and more of an intrusion into > Lucy's daily e-mail existence, she sought a way to cut down on the > unwanted mail. She expressed her unhappiness with the spammers to her > friend, who wasn't doing genealogy on the Net and she suggested Lucy try > out a new superduper spamblocker that she found that had rid her inbox > of spam. > > Lucy was so eager to try out the new "E-mail Jail" spamblocker that she > downloaded it and installed it that very day. She didn't give a thought > as to how this wonderful new program might impact her genealogical e- > mail usage as one who frequently heard from individuals not included in > her address book and, therefore, were not on the required "E-mail Jail" > approved sender list. > > At first, it seemed as if Lucy had found the solution--no more spam! > However, she soon noticed that she had stopped receiving mail from those > who had information for her and from those who had found her listing on > the RSL, or via WorldConnect, mailing lists, and message boards. Oh yes, > and that was another problem: Mail from her mailing lists just stopped. > What on earth could be the problem? > > Lucy assumed there must be a problem at RootsWeb as she thought she had > set up "E-mail Jail" to permit mail through from her lists. So, off she > trotted to the RootsWeb HelpDesk: http://helpdesk.rootsweb.com/help.cgi > to post a message about her "problem" and, guess what? The HelpDesk did > not even bother to reply. Was the HelpDesk just ignoring her -- after > all she had contributed? What nerve! > > Lucy figured she'd get some action by dropping a note to the editor of > the RootsWeb Review. Surely the editor could whip those ingrates on the > HelpDesk into shape and make them reply to her. But, no replies came. > > Eventually Lucy determined that the wonderful spamblocker that served so > well for her friend was completely unworkable when trying to use e-mail > to communicate with others in doing genealogical research. This spam- > blocker was too restrictive and didn't work with mailing lists, wouldn't > allow replies from the HelpDesk personnel or the RootsWeb Review editor > to get through to her. The replies were being held hostage or were being > trashed awaiting confirmation that the sender wasn't a spammer. Neither > the editor nor the HelpDesk had time to respond to such "challenge" > messages from spamblockers. > > This type of spamblocker, when used by those subscribed to mailing > lists won't work either as the list messages are coming from the actual > poster--who might be any other list member and not necessarily someone > in your address book and not from the list itself by name. > > Lucy finally ditched "E-mail Jail" and tried out another spam-blocking > program. This one, "E-mail Kleaner" was supposed to "wash away all your > spam" by returning mail from unknown senders as "User Unknown" so the > spammers would think your e-mail address had gone dead. Again, Lucy > stopped receiving her list mail. When she checked Password Central to > obtain a list of all her subscribed lists: > http://passwordcentral.rootsweb.com/ she discovered she had been > unsubbed from many of her busier lists. > > Uh oh...she soon came to the realization that "E-mail Kleaner" was > bouncing back all her list mail to RootsWeb. Plus once again, no one, > not even a list administrator, was able to get through to her to explain > the problem. In the end, Lucy Lister emerged a bit battered, but wiser, > with the realization that spamblockers or filters that are overly > restrictive or set to the highest security levels, do not work well for > genealogists who are researching on the Net. > > Selectivity is the keyword when choosing and setting up e-mail filters, > and consideration must be given as to how they will work with > RootsWeb's resources. If people sending you e-mail are going to be sent > a "challenge" response, have their mail imprisoned, trashed or bounced > -- then the filters won't work for you if you are using mailing lists > and other Internet resources. > > And, if you find you are not receiving the e-mail you are expecting, > including that of list mail and replies from the HelpDesk and/or the > editor, consider the possibility that your spamblocker might need > tweaking and it might even be the culprit. > > > "REPRINTS. Permission to reprint articles from RootsWeb Review is granted > unless specifically stated otherwise, provided: (1) the reprint is used > for non-commercial, educational purposes; and (2) the following notice > appears at the end of the article: Previously published in RootsWeb > Review: 15 September 2004, Vol. 7, No. 37." > > > > ==== CLANBOYD Mailing List ==== > RING OF BOYDS http://k.webring.com/wrman?ring=clanboydwebring&addsite > BOOKS http://clanboyd.info/books/forsale > http://worldconnect.genealogy.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=boyd-trees > > >