I am unclear on the concept of the new (beta) system.

Is this connected with the spamcop e-mail system or is it connected withe the reporting of spam which I receive in my non spamcop mailbox?

I am currently using the free reporting system to report spam I receive in my non spamcop mail box.

I want to know whether the free reporting that I am using is being changed or only spamcop mailbox reporting being changed.

ps: Just HOW do I add a signature? I have the enable signature checked below - what does THAT do?

--
Just a reader,
Not Admin
***

Forgot to add to the post I just posted.

It would be great if this discussion about the beta could be carried on in parallel in the newsgroups.

Even copying these posts in a separate thread in the newsgroups would be excellent.

Except for a "heads up" in the ng about this forum thread, I never would have found out about it.

scratching my head about what it that I'm about to embark on ... seems kinda vague.

first question if this relates to the SpamCop email service shouldn't this thread be over in SpamCop Email so that reporters-only don't get confused ?

In simple terms, it is effectively a change to the reporting system that is supposed to do two things.

1. Make it harder for a reporter to report their own mail servers.

2. Make it harder to submit a forgery.

At least one bug has shown up, because there are two of us in this thread with mail server configurations that the robot signup process could not deal with.

It appears in this case that the manual override request is the way to get the problems looked at.

-John
Personal Opinion Only

It's connected to the reporting system, either reporting spamcop-received spam or non-spamcop spam. Free or paid.

So if you use your spamcop account only for reporting spamcop spam, you can do that and the setup is extra-easy. If you don't report spam with that account, then you don't need to configure it.

Likewise if you use your free account to report spam from a given host (spamcop or otherwise), you need to configure each such account.

-=Julian=-

And one more Question:

do we need to go throught the mailhost configuration for all of the accounts that we are using to POP our email from ? I did anyway.

Based on the pictures I remember seeing on the web page of "instructions" (?) .. I'd say yes.

I'm afraid I just can't fathom this thing at all! I guess SpamCop is aimed at a fairly techy userbase, and I do consider myself an expert - but this has baffled me completely.

I have tried numerous ways to submit the email that SpamCop sends when I enter my mailhost address, and it just keeps replying with "you did not submit full headers" ...

I've followed the instructions for sending a MIME attachment via Mutt, but it just doesn't accept it.

I love SpamCop, I want to continue to support it, but at the moment I'm put off by the incredible complexity of this setup process. I suspect you'll lose a few users because they just don't understand what they need to do, nor why they should do it.

Perhaps I have an unusual mail configuration... I dunno. It's a real shame I can't get it to work.

Submit your confirmation email just as you would spam that reaches your inbox, with the exceptions below

Of course this will not work if you copy and paste your headers to the web page submit form. This will only work if you forward your email to spamcop as spam, with full headers. Send the confirmation email to the address provided and not to your report address.

That is how I finally was able to get a response and have my mailhost setup properly.

the "mail host" thing is Beta ... if you aren't sure of what you're doing, I'd suggest you revisit the "instruction" page or read through this Topic list again to see how to "revert" back to original mode first ... then sit back and wait until the "Beta" is over ... note: Beta implies issues that need to be worked out.

...Okay, now when I try http://www.spamcop.net/mcgi?action=mhedit, I get the following message: "Cannot find user - no cookie or login / Free users with no cookie must start from home-page link." I've gotten past this before but can't remember how. I am a "free user."

Please try http://www.spamcop.net/mcgi?action=mhedit&...6charANcodeNMBR (substituting as appropriate).

...Thanks JeffG, that did it!

Julian started working with me offline but has not replied to any of my emails. I tried again with the address he posted in this forum rather than the address his message first came from.

<Update> Julian did reply that he is very busy working on the problems affecting larger numbers of people before dealing with this. Since I only know of 2 people (including myself) who are using Lotus Notes, I can understand this logic. </Update>

I still have not been able to get the mailhost confirmation accepted from my Lotus Notes configuration.

My paid account for home has been working (and reporting) with absolutely no problems, including using quick reporting which has caused some people problems. In my configuration, however, my ISP does not even touch my email as it is redirected by a third party forwarder directly to spamcop.

I see

Forgery detected, or mailhost configuration incomplete. Please verify source IP identified.

sometimes when looking at my parsed SPAM. My mailhost configuration looks fine, so now I need to decided whether the lines below this warning are fake or not ? I don't have the expertise to determine this so am opting to delete it instead.

The rest of that message also says to check if whatever.ru is your ISP - if it is, then don't report it. But usually it's a forged header and ok to report.

Actually, now I come to think about it, submitting spam via email has *never* worked for me, so I guess my problem is not with this new beta test at all, but with something else. I always submit spam via the web interface because I get the same "incomplete headers" thing otherwise, even when I can *see* all the headers and paste them in.

I have noticed that my webmail account (Fastmail) inserts a few X-Spam: and X-Sieve: headers after its Received: headers, but before the Received: headers of the original spam relays... could this be the problem?

Do the Received: headers have to appear uninterrupted? If this is the case, I might try again by manually pasting the errant headers at the end (and I'll notify Fastmail too).

One other question which was raised above but not answered by you good people yet... I also have a 'loop', in that my mail arrives at Server-A, is checked to see if it has passed through Server-B, and if not, it is forwarded to Server-B, which cleans it for viruses and suchlike, then forwards it back to Server-A - so the headers reflect this loop. Not sure if your beta system likes this (although the spam submission doesn't seem to mind).

The problem with the loop appeared to be on the recipient's mailserver. It shouldn't affect you.

At the "suggestion" of Wazoo (a more appropriate handle I have never seen, as in "up the"), I a reposting this here.

A couple of points first. The title of this Forum includes the word "Help". Call me old-fashioned, but being insulted and demeaned does not fall within my definition of the word "Help". If I knew the answers, I wouldn't ask the questions. If I am not asking them correctly, assistance would be appreciated. Insults are not. You might note that I am rated as a "newbie" so if I don't know the rules, I at least have an excuse and I'm not going to learn them from some self-appointed guru of the Forum.

Now, Julian, if I might trouble you:

Okay, this Mailhosts thing is making me crazy.

I have, for a variety of reasons, several email accounts. Most of them were verified and added to my mailhosts list.

However:

I cannot, no matter what I do, get my Bigfoot account verified. As it normally forwards to another account, I figured that was the problem, so I disabled forwarding so that the verification emails would go to the Bigfoot Webmail account, which they did. Unfortunately, there appears to be no way to reply to or forward the verification email which includes the complete header, so it is repeatedly rejected. This Bigfoot account is my main "anonymous" account which I've had for years and I really don't want to give it up.

All attempts to verify my Hotmail account appear to vanish into nothingness. I get the verification emails okay and go through the whole Complete Headers and Source thing to send the replies, so am certain that the entire headers are, in fact, being sent. However, I never get any kind of reply and Hotmail still doesn't appear as one of my Mailhosts. I assume there is some problem, but without any feedback, I am completely in the dark as to what to do.

I also have two other email accounts through two of my ISP's which keep getting bounced. Both are set up with Spam filtering, both through (I think) the Postini system. The error emails mention a multiple level email system as being the problem, so I figured the Postini thing was the problem. Therefore, I went to the Web Mail boxes to answer the verification emails. I chose the complete header option and sent the replies as attachments. Still no joy and still the same error messages. I've run out of ideas.

I also own two domains through Freeservers which have their own email systems. The verification emails to both were returned with full headers and as attachments and the domains appear in the Mailhost list, but flagged as having problems. Once again, lacking any feedback, I am unable to do whatever to correct whatever the problem or problems might be.

Any suggestions or solutions?

If you read the thread where you originally asked the question, you may have figured out that possibly the reason you are not getting the Alaskan newsletters is because they are coming to your Bigfoot address (which has Korean servers).

I don't think anyone was really rude to you. You have to remember that usually the people who answer posts are just other users. And they often take their tone from the tone of the poster.

"Is this what your need?" probably would have gotten an entirely different answer than "Enough information? Or would you like their shoe size?" especially without a smiley face.

Miss Betsy

Interesting that you read "the insults" .. but ignored the "guiding light" of the suggestion / request for specific data. Exactly how much clearer can can "specific IP addresses" and "e-mail headers or Tracking URLs to show the chain of events" be made? I specifically pointed out "own two domains through Freeservers which have their own email systems" .. yet you chose not to follow the "assistance" provided by the specific suggestion that you identify said "two domains" ....

And in reference to your Topic on the Alaska / Korea issue, you should go back and note that I'm not the only person "attempting to help" that had specifically pointed out that your posts have yet to provide the specific data needed to actually answer your questions.

Okay, here are the non-existent headers and the invisible IP addresses of the non-email I didn't receive when trying to verify my Hotmail account.





























That help?

Where's the smiley face?

Miss Betsy

Basically, this topic is like an emergency room. We all post our symptoms and Julian determines which are affecting the most people and works on solving those. Eventually, everyone will be "examined" but it might be a long wait. Remember this is a beta test.

To address you specific issues:


As long as you configure the account the message is forwarded to first, the forwarding should not matter. It will actually help if you are able to get the ending account to forward a parsable message. A forwards to B. Register B directly then register A from the B account after it has forwarded. You may not be currrently able to register bigfoot directly. Remember this is a beta test.


If you can not submit spam via email, I don't think there is any current way to get the mailhost working. See other posts in this topic, specifically we trials with Lotus Notes from the first couple of pages. Remember this is a beta test.


If you are getting no replies, you simply need to wait until Julian gets to your issue. You have posted the problem here, there should be an answer when the issue is addressed (it may be a while if you are the only one posting the same problem). Remember this is a beta test.


Postini does not bounce messages, it holds them in your "Message Center" for you to handle. That is the system we use at work (my LN problem) and may actually be part of my problem as well. I am still waiting for Julian to get back to my issue. Remember this is a beta test.


I think postini will be a problem that Julian needs to work on because there is no actual email account you can configure directly. It will always pass through to your end email address as it is configured as the primary MX for the addresses it accepts and then passes them to whatever server is configured in the postini account. There will always be a multiple level email system. As far as my accounts are configured, you can only force the messages through to their final destiation, not forward or reply from the Message Center. Remember this is a beta test.


Where are they "flagged as having problems"? In the email confirmation or on the mailhosts web page? What is the exact error message? Have you tried removing them from the mailhosts page and resubmittng them? Others here have reported that working for them. Remember this is a beta test.

I'm pretty amazed in that the attempts to suggest that specific data would help to get your questions answered, you ignore that request .. then post this response to a query that mentioned your "own two domains ... that came back with error flags" .. what the heck does a non-e-mail from HotMail have to do with specifying the domain names, that you do in fact do state that e-mail did arrive from/about?
I m hoping that StevenUnderwood's answer does help and perhaps Julian has the magic in his bag of tricks to figure out all your issues with no specific data ....

Just as a note for those sitting on the sidelines. my mailhosts (spamcop, my ISP, hotmail, yahoo, fastmail and a couple of hosted domains) all appear to be registered and my traces look ok to me.

Only a few ask for me to really verify that the chain is correct, the vast majority recognise the whole chain or find an open proxy or a trivial forgery.

So things appear to be reasonably close to working to me.

Okay... I've been a good boy and paid my $30 for a proper SpamCop mail account. Prior to this I was using just a reporting account.

Anyway, I'm still having problems setting up my trusted mailhosts - no matter what I do (even if I follow the instructions in the FAQ) I still get the "incomplete headers" message.

But that isn't the point of this message... I want to make a suggestion...

On the 'technical details' page, next to the bit where it says "untrusted relay - not trusting anything beyond this point" (or words to that effect), why not simply place a hyperlink that says "actually, I DO trust this relay".

Then, we can click on that link and add the host that way.

Or is this just not feasible for technical reasons beyond my humble comprehension?

I doubt if there are technical reasons, but too many human reasons would not interpret that message correctly! Or maybe even honestly.

Miss Betsy

I got blasted a number of times for statements made over in the newsgroups that Julian had asked that follow-up be handled here , in this Forum, in this Topic .... I'e even taken some hits within these Forums for directing folks to this Topic for issues with the mail-host set-up ... A specific e-mail address posted by Julian here thus far has managed to remain here.

But, for a while now, Ellen has had folks e-mailing the Deputies address for mail-host issues over in the newsgroups. And for those that don't do the newsgroups side, here's a status report posted over there last evening;


So the question of the day .. is the mail-host configuration model ready and set for the masses? Is this Topic/thread here no longer the "requested repository" of issues and problems? Is the answer for any/all remaining issues now to be "contact Deputies" ...???

Absolutely not! It still doesn't like my mailhost submissions, and I have quite a simple configuration! I don't think this is 'out of beta' in any shape or form!

I agree that not all of the bugs have even been addressed. My complaint from page 1 of this thread is still awaiting to be addressed.

... tfb. Julian is the only one who gets to make the rules on this!


... tfb. Julian is the only one who gets to make the rules on this!