Spam filtering bcps [was Re: Open Letter to D-Link about their NTP vandalism]

Wed Apr 12 20:35:33 UTC 2006

On Wed, 12 Apr 2006 14:18:24 -0400
  Valdis.Kletnieks at vt.edu wrote:
> On Wed, 12 Apr 2006 10:16:53 PDT, Steve Thomas said:
>> 
>> > I haven't seen any succinct justification for providing a
>> > 550 message rejection for positively-identified spam versus
>> > silently dropping the message. Lots of how-to instructions
>> > but no whys.
>> 
>> RFC 2821?
>> 
>>   ...the protocol requires that a server accept responsibility
>>   for either delivering a message or properly reporting the
>>   failure to do so.

Your statement is open to multiple interpretations. I argue that
anytime our system identifies a message as spam that it gets
delivered to the system bit bucket.

RFC-821 and netiquette also "mandate" e-mail be properly addressed.
System manufacturers and administrators make compromises because
strict adherence to the rules is not always possible from an
operational perspective.

> Elsewhere in 2821 (6.1, to be specific):
> 
>   When the receiver-SMTP accepts a piece of mail (by sending a "250 OK"
>   message in response to DATA), it is accepting responsibility for
>   delivering or relaying the message.  It must take this responsibility
>   seriously.  It MUST NOT lose the message for frivolous reasons, such
>   as because the host later crashes or because of a predictable
>   resource shortage.

Lost me on that part about crashes being frivolous reasons.
This is a political statement not an indisputable matter of fact.

> OK? Got that? You '250 OK' it, you got a *serious* responsibility.  Losing 
>the
> message because the whole damned machine crashes is considered a frivolous 
>reason.
> 
> And throwing it away because you don't like the way it looks is OK?  Man,
...............................***
> you're in for some severe karmic protocol payback down the road... ;)

I'm not the one throwing them away and never look at them; watch
the finger wagging. And thanks for the karma heads up, Bhudda.

matthew black
california state university, long beach