AOL IP Blocking Spam Scam

[MarkM]

A friend's (non-FQ related) .org mailing list /IP has been issued a TOS due to AOL spam complaints, and written to me asking for info which he has to present in a 5 minute presentation to a non-tech board of directors...
This is definitely not my expertise, though I've been reading what everyones been going through.

The prob is that I feel the need to help this poor sod...
But the greater problem is that he is leaving in 3 hours to go to this meeting, and meanwhile I'm working on another fast approaching deadline for another project.
So, if anyone would care to provide a simplified synopsis on the AOL IP Blocking Spam Scam, that I could copy and send to him for his presentation, this would be greatly appreciated all round, and would serve to educate another sector of the www community.

Thanks,
Mark
wording... (K.I.S.S.):vday2:

[Deb]

I just woke up... have not had coffee yet.... :P

AOL - Receives TONS of spam complaints -- their clients DEMAND IT STOP -- their clients DEMAND better, simpler tools to make it stop.

AOL adds a "Report as Spam" one click button for its clients and some automated spam detection filtering.

AOL provides some tools for users to use to whitelist etc though not as easily seen as the report as spam button.

Users use the tools.

AOL does not have the time or resources or willpower to "discuss the spam" with "the spammers" any more and knows that forgeries have gotten quite good. Rather than all of the work required to "discuss each piece of spam" with the other hosts/senders and their clients etc they simply use the one KNOWN thing they can automatically find which equates to "where was the last place it touched before hitting us?"

Via forwards etc this type of reporting is seen as unfair.

When it comes to confirmed opt-in mailing lists it's also seen as unfair since the users agreed to be on the list -- but no one is talking anymore.... just reporting.

If AOL sees a "pattern of reports" e.g. too many from any particular location then they block that location to resolve the problem. Again, no discussion.

How many complaints it takes to get a block is not public information (it would be silly to give that information out since the spammers could then take advantage of that knowledge).

Some would argue it's perfectly fair: Simple as this. User doesn't want your email so they report you to the AOL Bot. AOL Bot knows how to send the email to the place that sent it to AOL and "add one" to the pattern tracker. If "pattern tracker" gets to X Number then block. What's so wrong with that?

In simplistic terms it's genius and ever so easy. In reality, it puts a lot of pressure on "everyone else" especially if they are still willing to investigate the complaints. So, some would argue, AOL has "passed the buck" on the spam problem that inflicts us all while taking the credit for "solving it".

Deb
- Too little, too late.

[MarkM]

...faster then a speeding train, faster then a ...

Thanks Deb!

[Deb]

Ohhh and one more thing...

It would appear AOL doesn't mind if the meat aint fresh...

E.g. some of the complaints we are receiving "TODAY" are from messages that were sent out about a month ago.

Places such as spamcop usually require the spam to be fresh.... AOL appears to be allowing it to sit in a user's folder for quite some time but still accepts the "report" well after the meat has rotted.

End result: You could get yelled at today for a list you deleted last month.

I do not know if AOL has *ANY* time limit.....

Deb
- I did wha? When? Hmmmm forgot about that...

[MarkM]

I'm getting random mail delivery problems (through my ISP) to some AOL clients who have emailed to register for an event. (Our registration confirmation is getting randomly returned)

Oh well, back to snail mail.

I will not succomb to the scam that I need to become an AOL customer if I wish to communicate with AOL customers...

Mark

[Randall]

I will not succomb to the scam that I need to become an AOL customer if I wish to communicate with AOL customers... Years ago I was working for a guy who had AOL because a lot of his clients did, and mail from AOL users seemed to go through a lot faster. :ytthink:

Not long after he hired me he finally decided enough was enough and we got a real dial-up account. :wink: No more getting dropped for "inactivity" when he'd been surfing in Netscape the whole @#$% time...

I have him hosted here as an IRM now. He quit the advertising business and moved out West, but it would be ironic if he had to go get an AOL account again just so he could email his clients. At least the mail eventually got through in the old days. Can't even be sure of that now.

But so far I haven't had any trouble with my own AOL people (knock on woodchucks).

Randall

[Chipmunk]

Places such as spamcop usually require the spam to be fresh As all Geeks know, spam, like Gagh, is best served live. :)

Clearly AOL has a negative Geek Score.

knock on woodchucks LOL! Ok, just how bad did you poor New Englanders get hit by that storm? My kitchen pipes froze (again) the night of the storm, the State Patrol warned people not to drive, and yesterday morning we had some pretty bad winds (my poor birds looked simultaneously miserable, and relieved at the free & convenient fast food handout). Sounds like you NorthEasters got hit :( even worse.


Hey Deb, check out tonight's Nature on PBS - the segment name is "The Real Macaw"!

[Randall]

I guess it could have been worse. :dunno:

I see maps like this one (http://sirocco.accuweather.com/iwxpage/adc/popup/iws0.jpg) and then look out the window and wonder if we were relocated to Delaware during the night. We got about 6 inches here, with lots of wind and cold, but not 16-24 inches, or even 12...

I'm still gonna be miserable driving to work on Tuesday, though. :grr: :sad: :wah:

Randall

[Jason]

It's really, really hard to tell how much snow we got, because there was SO MUCH wind that a lot of it blew into drifts. So, for example, walking to work this morning, at various points (and mind you, it's only about a quarter mile walk), I was alternately plowing through about 4 feet of snow, or gently sifting through only a few inches. All depended on how it drifted.

I would *guess*, though, based on how much snow was in some of the more enclosed areas (that wouldn't be impacted by wind), that we got about 15 to 20 inches here (an hour north and west of Boston). That's just a guess, though.

The real problem was all the drifting. I had to go out and clear off a basement vent at work (the vent that vents the furnace room!), and to get there had to walk up the side of the building. The snow was drifted up so high against where I had to walk to it was quite literally at waste-level. Fortunately it was light enough to just plow through, else I'd not have been able to move.

Pretty nasty storm, over-all, but it could have been much worse (I could be living on Cape Cod!)

Jason
- What good are boots and wooley socks when the snow is up to your belt??????

[Randall]

It's really, really hard to tell how much snow we got, because there was SO MUCH wind that a lot of it blew into drifts. So, for example, walking to work this morning, at various points (and mind you, it's only about a quarter mile walk), I was alternately plowing through about 4 feet of snow, or gently sifting through only a few inches. All depended on how it drifted. Oh, great. Now I don't wanna leave the house at all -- afraid I'll turn a corner and see polar bears throwing a lawn party.

I HATE WINTER! :wah:

Randall