[Dshield] Need some help testing

[jayjwa]

On Wed, 4 Jul 2007, Mar Matthias Darin wrote:

> On my server, some of my users want their spam blocked outright, others want
> it passed through but tagged for ease of personal filtering. 
> I have been told from admins that run DynaStop that they use the result from
> outright blocking to a points system for SpamAssassin.  Quite a wide range,
> wouldn't you say? 
> That being said, how is DynaStop a "draconian filter" when the admin
> determines how the tool will be used?

I never said it (DynaStop) specifically was; I was referring to attempts to 
contact people on lists being blocked in general, but one on this list in 
particular.

The original poster posted and asked about something. The project was 
moved/gone/moved on but I found out what happened to it. Not only that, but I 
Googled for the download point, got the files home, zipped them up nicely, and 
set them on their way with a small note referring to what was originally asked 
about. Approx. 45 minutes was used to do this, for someone I never previously 
had contact with.

That bounced, spam filter. Not a RBL or dynamic block, but an actual "this 
looks like spam" filter. OK, maybe mailing zip's is the catch. So try #2 I 
think I sent a URL to the archive. That met the same fate. Now I bank on it 
being something in the note, some text, so I chop out the text and send only 
the URL for try #3. Ditto. OK, maybe they're filtering URL's period, and 
possibly unknown words. Try #4 I uuencoded the note and URL and sent that 
inline. I'm guessing all got caught in the trap. This includes one of those 
sent to 'postmaster', because I had reason to believe the person was the owner 
of the domain/server operator. No, they never said specifically 'send me this 
via email', but I thought I was doing something good, something nice to make 
someone's day easier.

I really don't mean to pick on the person and won't name a name because the 
person is well-meaning, but it illustrates exactly what I mean: communication 
via email being so heavily filtered, and people so terrified of receiving 
something they didn't ask for, that real mail can't get through. We don't know 
each other directly, but I'd bet alot of people mail others they never met in 
real life or face to face. If we're going to connect all these computers 
together across the world so people can communicate, then anything that makes 
that impossible defeats the entire purpose to begin with.

I glad you created a tool to fight spam, and happy it's for Linux too, but you 
created something to help people block and snuff out me, and those like me 
(however small numbers there may be): not because of I'm a spammer or who I 
am, or what I'm sending or how much, but because of the technical way that I'm 
connected to the rest of you, which incidentally is a limitation on the 
resources I have at hand for the time being. That's what it will be used for, 
regardless of if you designed it to enforce AUP or anything else.