Zigzagfly Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Hi an ex keeps emailing me when I've asked him to stop. Is there a way to send someone a mail delivery error message from my email so they think I've deleted my email address? Im with aol. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farelf Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Yes you can zz but it's a BAD idea for several reasons that aren't immediately obvious (but can be further discussed if you wish). Why don't you just filter his messages straight to "Trash" and forget about him? See http://help.aol.com/help/microsites/search...ternalId=223425 Or if you would prefer to, create a special folder just for him which you can thereafter ignore or not at your whim - see http://email.about.com/od/aoltips/ss/How_t...Mail_in_AOL.htm (and use a filter to send it straight there). But maybe straight to Trash is the way to go. Either way, it's out of your Inbox, which is the primary mission achieved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turetzsr Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Hi, Zigzagfly, ...Welcome. Sorry to hear of your problem -- I hope the suggestion from Steve (Farelf) helps you. ...You posted your inquiry to the Suggested Tools and Applications forum, which is described as "A Forum for pointing to those neat fixes and solutions that we've all been looking for." Since your inquiry asks how to accomplish a goal rather than pointing to ... [a] neat fix [or] solution ..., I am moving it to a more appropriate Forum, the SpamCop Lounge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zigzagfly Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 Hi farelf. Id like tom find out more about the zz option. would you Explain please? How would I do that and why is it bad It's really not just a matter of not having them in my inbox because he'll think I've read them. I really want him to get the error message - sends a signal if you know what I mean. Thank you turetza for moving the thread ! Yes you can zz but it's a BAD idea for several reasons that aren't immediately obvious (but can be further discussed if you wish). Why don't you just filter his messages straight to "Trash" and forget about him? See http://help.aol.com/help/microsites/search...ternalId=223425 Or if you would prefer to, create a special folder just for him which you can thereafter ignore or not at your whim - see http://email.about.com/od/aoltips/ss/How_t...Mail_in_AOL.htm (and use a filter to send it straight there). But maybe straight to Trash is the way to go. Either way, it's out of your Inbox, which is the primary mission achieved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisati Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Hi farelf. Id like tom find out more about the zz option. would you Explain please? How would I do that and why is it bad It's really not just a matter of not having them in my inbox because he'll think I've read them. I really want him to get the error message - sends a signal if you know what I mean. Thank you turetza for moving the thread ! I have an idea of the kind of technique that is being referred to as "zz". If I have understood the suggestion properly, it is bad because it suffers from the same kind of problems as those described here: http://www.spamcop.net/fom-serve/cache/329.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farelf Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Yes, exactly lisati. Sorry for confusion, "zz" was just my abbreviation for Zigzagfly. I won't do that again. Now, apart from the potential in wider use for fake bounces to go to to innocent parties whose e-mail addresses happened to have been faked on the rejected message**, they are deceptive. (**Spoofed addresses are VERY common in spam and you run the risk of becoming a type of spammer yourself if you send innocents such bounces.) For AOL users, that deception is fairly apparent since AOL, for better or for worse, confirms valid addresses (and rejects invalid ones) at the very first stage of receiving the message (the initial SMTP contact). That means anyone who is at all persistent can work out quite easily that the e-mail address is actually valid, not discontinued. And then they can always suppose (might be inclined to suppose) that you actually saw their message before you "bounced" it. A nasty place in which to put yourself if they happen to be obsessive. The further problem with deception is that it can come back to bite you in ways that may not be anticipated. If (for instance) the matter ever went to court (civil that is, criminal prosecutors would prove most uninterested, I am sure, unless it was to escalate) it is better to have acted with consistent truthfulness and integrity, trust me. Okay, you've asked - twice now - and the simple answer is that there are applications that will do what you asked. "Mailwasher" is probably the most obvious (or notorious), just use your favourite search engine to find some detail. I don't know enough about it to say whether you can actually restrict the bounces to a custom blacklist or not - if it only works on a whitelist you would be open to a whole new world of hurt for the reason indicated by lisati and paraphrased above. Whatever you do, take care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zigzagfly Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 Thank you Farelf for your expertise and warning. I appreciate it ! Yes, exactly lisati. Sorry for confusion, "zz" was just my abbreviation for Zigzagfly. I won't do that again. Now, apart from the potential in wider use for fake bounces to go to to innocent parties whose e-mail addresses happened to have been faked on the rejected message**, they are deceptive. (**Spoofed addresses are VERY common in spam and you run the risk of becoming a type of spammer yourself if you send innocents such bounces.) For AOL users, that deception is fairly apparent since AOL, for better or for worse, confirms valid addresses (and rejects invalid ones) at the very first stage of receiving the message (the initial SMTP contact). That means anyone who is at all persistent can work out quite easily that the e-mail address is actually valid, not discontinued. And then they can always suppose (might be inclined to suppose) that you actually saw their message before you "bounced" it. A nasty place in which to put yourself if they happen to be obsessive. The further problem with deception is that it can come back to bite you in ways that may not be anticipated. If (for instance) the matter ever went to court (civil that is, criminal prosecutors would prove most uninterested, I am sure, unless it was to escalate) it is better to have acted with consistent truthfulness and integrity, trust me. Okay, you've asked - twice now - and the simple answer is that there are applications that will do what you asked. "Mailwasher" is probably the most obvious (or notorious), just use your favourite search engine to find some detail. I don't know enough about it to say whether you can actually restrict the bounces to a custom blacklist or not - if it only works on a whitelist you would be open to a whole new world of hurt for the reason indicated by lisati and paraphrased above. Whatever you do, take care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisati Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 I believe that "Incredimail" has an option to generate fake bounces as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zigzagfly Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 Thank you lisati. I believe that "Incredimail" has an option to generate fake bounces as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rconner Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 Coming in late, but I think fake bouncing may be a reasonable approach to a problem of this sort. However, you obviously do not want to autorespond to everyone in this way, just to the ex. Also, an experienced e-mail analyst will be able to tell one of these fake bounces in about 15 seconds. So, if the person you are trying to fool can read SMTP headers, they'll see through the ruse and things might be the worse for it. Also it is pointless to use fake bounces as a measure against the general type of spam, because in doing so you assume that the spammer is going to receive your bounces (he can't, he is using a spoofed e-mail address) and that he will "unsubscribe" you if you bounce (he won't, he doesn't care). -- rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zigzagfly Posted February 17, 2012 Author Share Posted February 17, 2012 Learning alot from you guys. Thank you ! Coming in late, but I think fake bouncing may be a reasonable approach to a problem of this sort. However, you obviously do not want to autorespond to everyone in this way, just to the ex. Also, an experienced e-mail analyst will be able to tell one of these fake bounces in about 15 seconds. So, if the person you are trying to fool can read SMTP headers, they'll see through the ruse and things might be the worse for it. Also it is pointless to use fake bounces as a measure against the general type of spam, because in doing so you assume that the spammer is going to receive your bounces (he can't, he is using a spoofed e-mail address) and that he will "unsubscribe" you if you bounce (he won't, he doesn't care). -- rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turetzsr Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 ...This is probably a farfetched idea but, not being competent to evaluate it, myself, I offer it just in case. <g> ...Instead of your generating a fake bounce, perhaps you can prevail upon your ESP (e-mail service provider) to generate a "real" bounce at handshake time whenever an e-mail from your ex comes to the ESP's receiving server. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lking Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 All this techie talk and yet I tend to agree with the earlier advise. You never really know how a relationship is going to end and you are well advised to leave the legal path open and clear. If we were able to know ahead of time, no one would get into what ends up being an obsessive or abusive relationship. So maybe the answer is filtered to a folder, unread, unless you lawyer needs them. <clip>That means anyone who is at all persistent can work out quite easily that the e-mail address is actually valid, not discontinued. And then they can always suppose (might be inclined to suppose) that you actually saw their message before you "bounced" it. A nasty place in which to put yourself if they happen to be obsessive. The further problem with deception is that it can come back to bite you in ways that may not be anticipated. If (for instance) the matter ever went to court (civil that is, criminal prosecutors would prove most uninterested, I am sure, unless it was to escalate) it is better to have acted with consistent truthfulness and integrity, trust me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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