dealing with dictionary attacks

[Scott Silva]

Dhawal Doshy spake the following on 3/12/2007 11:02 AM:
> Rick Chadderdon wrote:
>> Res wrote:
>>> I'm not asking for any leeway, OT = OT, my point was made, that being
>>> some people seem to think some unrelated to MailScanner crud is OK,
>>> where other unrelated topics are not. 
>> I agree, Res.  OT=OT.  That said, I still don't think that OT posts are
>> a bad thing.  In fact, it's the OT posts that build a sense of
>> community.  Without this kind of discussion people with strong opinions
>> and a lot of attitude (like myself, maybe, or...  maybe someone else in
>> this discussion) become known for just their opinions and not for what
>> kind of person they are, what their background is, etc..  Without
>> off-topic discussions, nobody would know to tell me that you're a "nice
>> guy under the prickly surface", something which I already knew - from
>> reading the off-topic posts. (And obviously I don't post enough, because
>> if I did, Glenn would have known that I don't need to "chill out" - that
>> one certainly wasn't one of my "unchilled" posts.  :) )  I wouldn't know
>> that you're an old-timer like me.  We wouldn't know that English isn't
>> Glenn's native tongue.  (It's refreshing to know that native speakers
>> are still better at mangling the language. :) )
>>
>> It is, of course, up to the owner of any mailing list to set the policy
>> for their list, but I believe that a strict rule barring off-topic posts
>> stifles the usefulness of such things.
> 
> it all depends on the signal-to-noise ratio.. once any list starts
> reducing in usefulness, there are people who'll either complain OR
> simply quit..
> 
> For something like anti-spam, there are bound to be
> off-but-related-topics once in a while and at some times out-weigh
> relevant topics.. For instance mailscanner without a MTA is mostly
> useless (unless you use it with squid OR a blog).. similarly mailscanner
> without spamassassin is a yes/no approach rather than a probabilistic
> approach. There are always going to be questions about integration /
> installation issues with $MTA, SA, AV etc.. there is not much you can do
> about it.. no matter how well it may be documented in the wiki, FAQ, MAQ..
> 
Would it appease the anti OT people if something was added to the subject
stating that it is OT?
That way you could filter any OT that you don't want to see.
I just read the list through GMANE, and mark thread as read if I lose interest
in a topic.
I have to agree that a too-strict list will stop the building of relationships
between people from diverse and interesting locales. How would I know anything
about some of the more colorful people on this list? I doubt I will be able to
visit their countries any time soon.

-- 

MailScanner is like deodorant...
You hope everybody uses it, and
you notice quickly if they don't!!!!