Date: Sun, 7 Sep 1997 16:35:42 -0700 (PDT) From: "Jonathan M. Bresler" <jmb> To: ahd@kew.com (Drew Derbyshire) Cc: jmb@FreeBSD.ORG, hackers@hub.freebsd.org, support@kew.com Subject: Re: spam and the FreeBSD mailing lists Message-ID: <199709072335.QAA17881@hub.freebsd.org> In-Reply-To: <341314D0.E22ADFF3@kew.com> from "Drew Derbyshire" at Sep 7, 97 04:55:44 pm
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Drew Derbyshire wrote: > > Jonathan M. Bresler wrote: > > therefore, we are not blocking mail from sites that can not be > > resolved in the DNS. not that i dont want to, there are just too > > many newbies out there that send mail to the lists. > > You really do want to enable that. > > First off, it really does kill much spam. > > Just as important, however, is that bounce messages just plain _don't_ > _work_ for such users when they are legitimate, and a specific useful > message reporting that the host cannot be resolved is going to do more > to solve their (or their ISP's) long term problem with lost bounces more > than blindly accepting mail which doesn't have a valid address. > > The TCP/IP protocol implicitly requires public IP address to be properly > registered to be routed (otherwise, you don't get your ACK's back!), please remember to distinguish between "mail from:" addresses and relays. there is *not* reasone that i know of that a "mail from:" address must be resolvable. if the "don't get your ACK's ba" they cant establish the TCP session in order to transfer the mail in the first place. > there is no sin in requiring public e-mail addresses registered as well. > > Note too, that newbies tend to not start with e-mail from their own > sites, they use their existing connection (Windows connected to an ISP > POP3 server or whatever) to get up and then migrate. I've handled > e-mail support for UUPC/extended for ~ 8 years, I've watched the pattern > for that long -- my help desk is now reading this over my shoulder, and > her comment is "Yup -- and that any list which is spammed is less > helpful". you may well be correct about this...i am still learning the email game even though i have been postmaster for over two years. things keep changing and there is always more to learn i may change the check_relay ruleset to require DNS resolution. ;) jmb
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