It's such a shame that something that seems so simple is so complicated. And what's so bad, there are still people out there who don't use any caution when they see those messages come through with just a link and no explanation, they click onto it without a second thought. I've seen where people who see those messages also pass those same links on in other lists just to ask what do others think about the link. Talk about going viral! Deloris From: JYoung6180@aol.com Sent: Monday, July 16, 2012 12:02 PM To: del_williams@comcast.net Cc: listowners@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [LO] Preventing Spam on Lists Deloris- I beat you to it on this suggestion...quite some time ago I requested that they block ALL messages going to lists that 1) have no subject AND 2) have ONLY a link in the body of the message. I realize that some posters leave the subject blank either by accident or they just don't know better. BUT, I've never seen a legit post with both no subject AND only a link. These are always spam. Listmaster had already spoken with board techie staff when I asked about it and he told me that the time involved with setting that up would be prohibitive and that it wasn't as easy as we might think. So I doubt it will be happening. Joan In a message dated 7/16/2012 12:51:22 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, del_williams@comcast.net writes: AOL users were by far, the majority of the SPAM that I saw last week. They hit not only my lists, but just about all of the additional 50 or so lists I'm subbed to. What I'd like to know, isn't there some way that RW can prevent messages with "No Subject" hitting the lists? In my own email client, I have set such messages to go to my junk mail folder, so I don't see why it would be so difficult to set the RW filters for something similar. Deloris Williams

Deloris, People responding to those darned links are not so surprising when you consider the large number of newbies, people who truly believe "it can't happen to me," and yes even some who truly do not know better. There are far more of them than you might think, and they are most likely the "lurkers" on the average list who we as Admins never hear from until a certain message appears on the list with no subject line and little more than a link in the message body. What I am amazed at is the fact that I am personally aware of at least three of my fellow List Admins out there (no names mentioned) who have been globally unsubbed from RW (yes, including all of the lists they administer) for the very same reason. It can happen to anyone, including another admin, but in that case it is hard to understand how it happens. :-( Just my two cents worth, FWIW. It truly CAN happen to anyone though, and if you think it can't happen to you then you are just plain wrong. I confess that some time ago I myself was caught by a virus no less than twice in a span of a single month. I definitely knew better at the time, though it was many years ago, and both times it happened 100% because I let my guard down at the time and I let them both in. I am speaking from experience when I say I truly dislike seeing it happen to anyone, no matter the circumstances. David E. Cann decann@infionline.net -----Original Message----- From: listowners-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:listowners-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Deloris Williams Sent: Monday, July 16, 2012 3:56 PM To: listowners@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [LO] Preventing Spam on Lists It's such a shame that something that seems so simple is so complicated. And what's so bad, there are still people out there who don't use any caution when they see those messages come through with just a link and no explanation, they click onto it without a second thought. I've seen where people who see those messages also pass those same links on in other lists just to ask what do others think about the link. Talk about going viral! Deloris