Hey ya'll- Whatever it is ya''ll are getting- I'm not but I sure get plenty of other spam and junk- Just some general info on dealing with it- abuse@prodigy.net - That's an email address - go ahead and write to it and let them know. Be sure to include the headers from the message so they can track it. How to get the headers? In outlook express which is what Helene and I use, click on (highlight) the message you want info about but don't open it. Then in the top left hand side of your screen click on File, then click on Properties, then Details and finally- Message Source. Highlight ALL of the message source and include all of that information in your email to abuse@prodigy.net Service providers are required to maintain and monitor 'abuse' email addresses so whenever you have a problem you can email abuse@whatever_domain.com and your email 'should' go through. Another way in outlook express to deal with unwanted mail is the Block Sender option (which I use quite frequently) these days. You can block individual senders or even whole domain blocks, as necessary. This is how I deal with spam- the Lose Weight, better sex, mortgage, find anyone, get a loan, get your degree online, all that junk merits a block sender- To accomplish this- again, with the message you want to deal with highlighted but not opened- on the top tool bar- Click on Message, and then choose the Block Sender option. You will be asked whether you want all mail from that sender deleted- choose yes or no as you wish. I usually choose no and delete the mail myself. Further mail from that particular sender will go straight to your delete bin and you won't be bothered with it. You can further modify your blocked senders list by clicking on Tools, and then choosing Message Rules, and then choose Blocked Senders List. Look carefully at your blocked senders list- there may be some whole domains that you want to block because you don't want any further mail from anyone at that domain and you don't know anyone who will be sending you mail from that domain. A few examples of domains that you might not want to block are yahoo.com, hotmail.com, earthlink.net because so many people have email accounts with them. Some that you might want to block would be the smaller, unheard of domains that seem to specialize in spam mail accounts and serve no other purpose- Here's how to block mail from a whole domain: Click on the email address on your Blocked Senders List that you would like to modify and choose Modify- simply delete the users name before the @ and leave the domain_name.com and that domain will be blocked from sending you further mail. (It will go straight to your delete bin). So, for whatever all that is worth :o) sky ----- Original Message ----- From: "Helene Pockrus" <helenepockrus@earthlink.net> > > Helene, I am also receiving dozens of these every time I get my mail. I am > > on Prodigy and the service man told me to go to abuse@prodigy.net to tell > > them about it but I can't get that site to come up. Help!!! > > anross@prodigy.net --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.372 / Virus Database: 207 - Release Date: 6/20/2002

Helene - those transcriptions you posted (especially Hon James Holt) were fantastic! thanks. Some comments re: recent general list discussion: 1) note that using the "block sender" function to block "spam" from this list in outlook, outlook express, and netscape mail will also block all messages from this list because the "sender" is the same for all messages "Holt-L@rootsweb.com" or "Holt-D@rootsweb.com" -- the rootsweb mail server has a tool that blocks spam when it catches it. You'd be surprised how many messages are blocked from the lists that way. Some email programs such as Outlook and Eudora have "junk mail" and "adult content" filters but they are not 100% accurate. 2) Rootsweb did in fact just go through a server change and some upgrades and some lists were receiving "bounce messages" (which usually only go to the list admin) to the list itself. That appears to be fairly "fixed" now. 3) People who use "request return receipt" and "vacation away messages" on a mailing list will automatically send those messages to every list subscriber. Those messages we sometimes get that say "John is away until the 18th..." or "Fred's email address has changed..." are usually the result of such programs and not a result of Rootsweb tools. List subscribers should not use such tools or should unsubscribe from mailing lists before using them... 4) "abuse@prodigy.net" is an email address and not a web page. Someone mentioned they were trying to "go to" that address. Almost every domain has an "abuse" address. Sending mail to an abuse address regarding something you received over a list-server will generally get that mail deleted though; The administration of a list-server (such as the Rootsweb lists) rests with the list admins. Understand that most bulk mailers are using a "spoofer" -- a tool that hides their real email address. They also generally use a proxy server which hides their real IP address. Even with a full set of headers, you often can't identify these folks. Also know that some of them send email from services that specialize in bulk email. Sending an abuse message to "abuse@WeLoveSpammers.com" is going to have little effect. Note too that "administrative messages" on a list-server are not "spam" even if you don't want to read them... 5) Rootsweb lists do not permit file attachments or coded mail (html, etc...) and therefor are reasonably safe from viruses and trojan horses. The lists are archived though and that does provide a source for "harvest-bots" to collect email addresses. If you post to a mailing list, write to web forums, or develop web pages then your email address is available to the spammers. Sadly, that's just the way it is. Mailing lists don't generally have a "webmaster" but instead a "list administrator" aka "list mom". Who is the list admin of Holt-L? Just some comments CoachT not the list admin for Holt-L board admin for HOLT rootsweb message board gatewayed to this list