When spam-blocking filters label "good" e-mail "bad"

• Published in: The Canadian Manager Vol. 28; no. 2; p. 23
• Main Author: Harrison, Carrie
• Format: Trade Publication Article
• Language: English
• Published: Toronto Canadian Institute of Management 01-07-2003
• Subjects: Electronic mail systems; Filtering software; Internet; Marketing; Spam; Spamming; Canada
• ISSN: 0045-5156

Spam has been called a "cyber-crisis" by some and is deservedly labeled by many as the time-wasting bane of e-mail users. Battling on the frontlines to attack spam, most ISPs and corporate IT departments are using blacklists and increasingly sophisticated filters to block spam. With programs like SpamAssassin, SpamCop, SPEWS, and Spamhaus, organizations can set filters at various sensitivity levels based on their levels of tolerance for junk e-mail. Even with filters set at moderate to low levels there remains real potential for legitimate e-mail messages to be locked-out by anti-spam software. As reported in Ezine-Tips Daily, even such reputable electronic communicators as the Chicago Tribune and Baltimore Sun newspapers have received the "dreaded label" of spam. Forge Marketing recently introduced a system that tests its clients' electronic direct mail and rates it according to how likely it is to be filtered as spam. The company also uses "List Quality Index" technology to measure how well campaigns for clients hit their mark. Forge's own policy is "no spam, no exceptions." [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]