| Information
For End-Users If you have received an email with subject line modified by a prefix of {Spam?}, {Virus?} or {File?} PLEASE READ THIS PAGE IN FULL. In this case, it means that your email has been flagged as SPAM. The mail filtering agent, called SpamAssasin, attempts to identify spam using text analysis and several internet-based realtime blacklists. Using its rule base, it uses a wide range of heuristic tests on mail headers and body text to identify "spam", also known as unsolicited commercial email. Once identified, the mail can then be optionally tagged as spam for later filtering using the user's own mail end-user application. SpamAssassin typically differentiates successfully between spam and non-spam in between 95% and 99% of cases, depending on what kind of mail you get. Some helpful tips. Please be aware that this mail filtering may not differentiate your email correctly. If you feel that you have an email message that did not get delivered to you, please contact our Server Technician with your details to see if we can retrieve the email from the 'quarantined' list. Why Are You Spamming Me? If you are seeing SpamAssassin data {Spam?} in the mail message, then this indicates that somebody at your ISP, your web hosting company, your employers, etc. has set up a mail filter which detects spam and adds these markings so that you can filter it more easily, should you wish to. Why was the e-mail altered? Your system administrator or ISP has implemented a policy to block "spam" (also known as unsolicited commercial e-mail). Each incoming e-mail is scanned for signs that it may be "spam", and if it is determined that it's likely to be spam, it is altered to clearly reflect this, so that you can decide whether to delete or keep it. If you have concerns about the scanning policy, please talk to your system administrator or ISP support desk. But The Message Was Not Spam! Sometimes SpamAssassin(tm) will get a "false positive", resulting in tagged mails which are not actually spam at all. Since spammers don't usually highlight the fact that their mail is unwanted, unsolicited ads, SpamAssassin has to try to work it out -- and it's not always easy to do. But I Don't Get Much Spam! Count yourself lucky, then! The longer your email address stays valid, the more spam you will get. It may not be a problem for you -- yet -- but others find it very frustrating. Some recent research has indicated that several ISPs find their incoming mail is between 40% and 80% spam, overall; and quite a few old-timers who've used the same address for years, get over 30 spams a day. If you don't get much spam, you probably find SpamAssassin more annoying than useful. In this case, see How Can I Turn It Off?, below. What is SpamAssassin, After All That? SpamAssassin(tm) is a mail filter which scans, and attempts to block, spam. |