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Selecting and deleting multple held emails


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spamcop.net,Feb 10 2004, 10:21 AM] I have a lot of held spam - over 2600 messages.

How can I select and delete most or all of them?

This has been asked / answered at least several times over in the E-Mail Forum. This "Help" Forum is generally for problems with the reporting of spam. Suggest you visit the E-Mail Forum and read through the Topic list. As the answer is there several times, there shouldn't be a need for you to even re-post your query ....

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I have the same problem:

<<

(Displaying 100 emails, delete some to see more of the 2182 remaining)

>>

I have searched this forum without finding a specific reply on how to delete more than 100 per go. Please post a reference to the answer!

Many thanks,

Andrew

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I have the same problem:

<<

(Displaying 100 emails, delete some to see more of the 2182 remaining)

>>

I have searched this forum without finding a specific reply on how to delete more than 100 per go. Please post a reference to the answer!

Many thanks,

Andrew

I know there's a way to reference a specific posting, but I don't have that knowledge at this point. That said, I see a couple of posts with a Topic/Subject line that include "Delete Held Mail" ... This is in the E-Mail Forum, so not sure if you'd posted and searched while this was over in the Help Forum.

Next question would be .. have you looked at the Pinned - FAQ's at the top of the entrance page to this Forum? Though I didn't see the ">100" settings, I believe I recall others pointing out that it's in your Preferences .... Noting that there seem to be major differences between being set up as a POP vice IMAP vice WebMail ... and there's no way to guess from your posting as to how you're configured.

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I have the same problem:

<<

(Displaying 100 emails, delete some to see more of the 2182 remaining)

>>

I have searched this forum without finding a specific reply on how to delete more than 100 per go. Please post a reference to the answer!

Many thanks,

Andrew

I know there's a way to reference a specific posting, but I don't have that knowledge at this point. That said, I see a couple of posts with a Topic/Subject line that include "Delete Held Mail" ... This is in the E-Mail Forum, so not sure if you'd posted and searched while this was over in the Help Forum.

<snip>

...Hmm ... searching for "delete held mail" found only this thread. But "deleting held" did get hits.

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You can easily empty any mailbox from the Folder view of the SpamCop webmail interface.

  1. Just click the Folders icon at the top of the page,
  2. Expand the folders
  3. Select the folder you want to empty. (click the selection box in the left column, on the folder's row)
  4. Click the Choose Action drop-down box above the folder table.
  5. Select Empty Folder(s).

Enjoy

(hey, is that Matisse E? This is craig1st, who once attended one of your early net lectures off a mention on the well. small world :-)

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You can easily empty any mailbox from the Folder view of the SpamCop webmail interface.
  1. Just click the Folders icon at the top of the page,
  2. Expand the folders
  3. Select the folder you want to empty. (click the selection box in the left column, on the folder's row)
  4. Click the Choose Action drop-down box above the folder table.
  5. Select Empty Folder(s).

Enjoy

(hey, is that Matisse E? This is craig1st, who once attended one of your early net lectures off a mention on the well. small world :-)

Craig lists a straightforward way to delete all your held mail at once, and that was the routine I was using. But then I was told that I really should report as spam all my held messages, so blacklisted servers will remain blacklisted. I think the select-all-and-report-then-trash option isn't available from the webmail folder view, and it doesn't really work for >100 spams from the held mail page either. <_<

Is there a way for webmail users to simply and automatically report all held mail as spam, even if held mail is over 1000 messages in under three days?

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Is there a way for webmail users to simply and automatically report all held mail as spam, even if held mail is over 1000 messages in under three days?
Not automatically, but here is how to do it semiautomatically:

1. Adjust "Messages per page in the mailbox view" in Webmail's Options / Other Options / Display Options to 1000.

2. Select your "Held Mail" Folder.

3. Review the first page of 1000 messages to confirm that they are spam.

4. Click the checkbox above all of the other checkboxes (Select All), or Alt+K

5. Click the "Report spam" Link, or Alt+E and Enter.

6. Confirm your intent by clicking the "OK" Button, or Enter.

7. Repeat with the next page of 1000 messages until done.

[NOTE: Select All Keyboard Shortcut was changed from Alt+N to Alt+K.]

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Is there a way for webmail users to simply and automatically report all held mail as spam, even if held mail is over 1000 messages in under three days?

1. Adjust "Messages per page in the mailbox view" in Webmail's Options / Other Options / Display Options to 1000.

2. Select your "Held Mail" Folder.

<SNIP><SNIP><SNIP>

mmm, yes, you certainly can do that, but if you do, you are at much greater risk of making false reports. You do not want to use the bulk select-report-delete method a thousand messages at a time unless you are some kind of polymath genius and are able to visually scan them all and be SURE that those thousand messages are all spam. False reporting can cause people real problems if they are unlucky enough to have it happen to them two or three times in a few days. They or their ISP can get blackholed.

At the risk of being pedantic and repetitive, I suggest that you use the webmail Folder view, that's the one you get by clicking the Folder icon at the top of the page, select the folder you want to empty (Held Mail) and use the choice box at the top of the page to empty the folder. That will move them all to the Trash folder, where you will have to do it again.

Then, you have fresh empty Held mail folder. You can scan, say, fifty messages at a time and use the easy report'n'trash feature on them. Since you are more likely to not make false positives fifty at a time, your reporting will be more accurate. And if the Held messages bulk up again, just report the first fifty or so and trash the rest.

imho, and all that.

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Well, better just ignore me, because I'm finding the bulk delete, Folder Nav, feature to be malfunctioning. See:

http://forum.spamcop.net/forums/index.php?...st=0entry1597

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spamcop.net,Feb 10 2004, 10:21 AM] I have a lot of held spam - over 2600 messages.

How can I select and delete most or all of them?

This has been asked / answered at least several times over in the E-Mail Forum. This "Help" Forum is generally for problems with the reporting of spam. Suggest you visit the E-Mail Forum and read through the Topic list. As the answer is there several times, there shouldn't be a need for you to even re-post your query ....

Dear Spamcop:

I find it obnoxious to answer legitimate questions of your users with something like "This has been asked / answered at least several times over in the E-Mail Forum.", etc. Has is occured to you that there must be a SERIOUS PROBLEM with the structure of the Spamcop help system (not only the HELP system) in terms of user-friendlyness and intuitive GUIs? Don't you realize that NONE OF YOUR USERS is really interested in learning the Spamcop system, but just in getting their e-mails delivered?

Please try better.

Wolfgang Polzleitner

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Wolfgang, the person who posted that answer to Matisse is just another user like us, not a SpamCop employee, I believe.

See:

link to answer you reference.

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Dear Spamcop:

I find it obnoxious to answer legitimate questions of your users with something like "This has been asked / answered at least several times over in the E-Mail Forum.", etc. Has is occured to you that there must be a SERIOUS PROBLEM with the structure of the Spamcop help system (not only the HELP system) in terms of user-friendlyness and intuitive GUIs? Don't you realize that NONE OF YOUR USERS is really interested in learning the Spamcop system, but just in getting their e-mails delivered?

Please try better.

Wolfgang Polzleitner

Dear Mr. Polzleitner,

I do not work for SpamCop. I have used the SpamCop reporting tool for just about as long as it has been around. The particular posting I first replied to was in the "Help" Forum, which has been set-up to handle queries on the issues involving the "reporting" of spam. That you find it obnoxious that I would refer someone to the proper Forum for the type of question asked and also point out that the specific subject already had answers existing there strikes me as being "your" problem.

You will note that the entire thread has, in fact, been moved over to the "E-Mail Forum", as it does deal with an "E-Mail" problem.

Your "SERIOUS PROBLEM" with the structure nd "intuitive GUIs" does strike me as a bit odd. Forum titles seem to have been chosen with some care, and each one has a "Welcome" Topic that tries to explain just what each Forum is for. That you feel that "NONE OF THE USERS" has any interest in figuring out where to go to get questions answered certainly belittles most users. On the other hand, that a particular user has an "E-Mail problem" and doesn't grok that perhaps going into the "E-Mail Forum" would be the best chance of finding a solution, not sure what else in a GUI system could make a bit of difference.

Point in fact, this web-based thing was set-up so as to make things "easier" for folks to get help, as someone else has determined that it was too difficult for "newer" users to figure out how to use the NNTP newsgroups. And if you'll notice, this thing hasn't been around all that long, and in fact, may be replaced by other software in the near future, so perhaps even more changes coming. That said, I'll just point out that I'm doing the best I can to keep up with the changes here, the changes with the SpamCop tools, and will continue to offer what help I can to anyone that needs it. This even includes you.

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We seem to be getting into some kind of loop: "Just trash 'em" leads to "No, report 'em first, but make sure you don't get any false positives" leads to "but I get a thousand spams every day" leads back to "just trash em".

Well, I figure that since Spamcop's held mail didn't contain any false positives when I just got hundreds of spams a day (and I had time to look them all over), I can feel relatively confident about using the semi-automatic report-and-trash procedure now that I get kilo-spam. Someday soon, maybe I'll be getting mega-spam...

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We seem to be getting into some kind of loop: "Just trash 'em" leads to "No, report 'em first, but make sure you don't get any false positives" leads to "but I get a thousand spams every day" leads back to "just trash em".

Well, I figure that since Spamcop's held mail didn't contain any false positives when I just got hundreds of spams a day (and I had time to look them all over), I can feel relatively confident about using the semi-automatic report-and-trash procedure now that I get kilo-spam. Someday soon, maybe I'll be getting mega-spam...

Yes, I can see how this would confuse users, telling them simultaneously that it is OK to quick-report bulk masses of Held Mail as spam, and also telling them that they should scan the Held Mail to make sure they are not making bogus reports.

That is why you shouldn't tell them to make blind mass reports. If you read the complaints by sysadmins out there who've had their systems black holed by spamcop, the stories of their long drawn out communication loops THEY go through trying to get their systems un-blocked, they you may feel a bit more that we must be responsible in using the reporting tool here. All of those masses of messages you reported, in which you say there were no falsely Held messages, well, perhaps there were a few in there. Can you really say there were not if you quickly scanned and reported A THOUSAND of them? I know I still find falsely Held messages. It's fairly rare, which is ironically annoying, but it happens.

fwiw, I too have been using spamcop for quite some time, and have done my share of reporting. so it's not like I'm a newbie here. I can scan a hundred Held messages and report'em pretty darn quickly, and then do it again and again. But, although it is tempting to do the same to 1000, I don't, because I know that the likelihood of false reporting is that much more, and that would be irresponsible.

False reporting can have and does have very real, material negative consequences out there.

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We seem to be getting into some kind of loop: "Just trash 'em" leads to "No, report 'em first, but make sure you don't get any false positives" leads to "but I get a thousand spams every day" leads back to "just trash em".

Well, I figure that since Spamcop's held mail didn't contain any false positives when I just got hundreds of spams a day (and I had time to look them all over), I can feel relatively confident about using the semi-automatic report-and-trash procedure now that I get kilo-spam. Someday soon, maybe I'll be getting mega-spam...

This has been an continuing issue, not only with e-mail accounts. Others have written scripts to automate their reporting, sometimes even successfully <g> ... Problem is that one day, something happens ... like the "APNIC not answering" things .. and everything goes to crap in a heartbeat ... but the "automated" responses march on like the good soldiers they are ... then "we" see the complaints "I've blocked myself". "my ISP is ticked!", and of course the ever popular "I didn't mean to report that one!"

Way back when, the agreement between the SpamCOp tool and the user included remarks dealing with the user paying attention to what was going on. That has never changed.

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although it is tempting to do the same to 1000, I don't, because I know that the likelihood of false reporting is that much more, and that would be irresponsible.

False reporting can have and does have very real, material negative consequences out there.

Hmm. Well, thanks for the report. Really. :)

My understanding was that one random report does not get the ISP blacklisted, so on balance I didn't think the unlikely possibility of one or two false positives was enough to justify automatically emptying my held mail without reporting it. OTOH, if there are false positives in there on a regular basis, that might lead to unjustified blacklisting. I don't want to contribute to the mega-headaches that my ISP and the SC guys get from blacklisting innocent ISPs. So what's a guy to do if he wants to be a responsible netizen? :(

I'm afraid carefully vetting the sheer volume of held mail I have is not an option for me.

BTW, if you've discovered any false positives in your held mail, your experience is different from mine. SC does a fantastic job. When I did have time to go through my held mail, I found only pure spam. Mistakes have only happened when I try to mark the spams that appear in my inbox all at once and I've clicked on the wrong checkbox. Never doing more than four or five helps, as does sending them to a possible_spam folder, then examining the ones there.

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Scott, if you are that confident then you might as well go for it. But I figure that given the sheer volume of reporting that is probably going on, it's not inconceivable for multiple reporters to make a false report within a few days of each other, expecially if they are reporting thousands at a time. All the more likely for major hosting providers, since their message numbers are high. Mailing list messages and ecommerce acknowledgement messages are also usual false positives in my experience, btw.

For me, unless SpamCop deputies come out and tell me in clear language that I can be confident that there will be no false positives in the auto-filtered Held Mail, I'll continue to max out my mass reporting at 100 messages or so, after scanning the headers and removing possible false positives from the batch. If if been offline for a few days and there are hundreds and hundreds in there, I usually just report a hundred or so of the most recent, and delete the rest. If I'm online the numbers are much less, since I'll do a reporting round once or twice a day, "morning and night"; in that case, I can usually scan and report all the Held Mail. And, yes, the false positives are rare, but not nonexistant; see above.

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Scott, if you are that confident then you might as well go for it.

For me, unless SpamCop deputies come out and tell me in clear language that I can be confident that there will be no false positives in the auto-filtered Held Mail, I'll continue to max out my mass reporting at 100 messages or so, after scanning the headers and removing possible false positives from the batch. If if been offline for a few days and there are hundreds and hundreds in there, I usually just report a hundred or so of the most recent, and delete the rest. If I'm online the numbers are much less, since I'll do a reporting round once or twice a day, "morning and night"; in that case, I can usually scan and report all the Held Mail. And, yes, the false positives are rare, but not nonexistant; see above.

I was confident, I did "go for it", and I got stung. The monitoring messages from this forum got reported as spam somehow, and that got my ISP onto the SORBS blacklist (I think). Anyway, now I think I'll adopt your "100-most recent" strategy!

BTW, both SC and several experienced users advised me against it, but I was so impressed by SC's initial performance that I saw those warnings as overcautious and safely ignored. At the same time, I added a few more blacklists to my filter list. Big mistake: now I know the perils of blind reporting. If sheer volume prevents you from inspecting held mail, report what you can and just delete the rest.

Now, back to trash diving to whitelist the false positives I accidentally sent there. :)

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I was confident, I did "go for it", and I got stung. The monitoring messages from this forum got reported as spam somehow, and that got my ISP onto the SORBS blacklist (I think). Anyway, now I think I'll adopt your "100-most recent" strategy!

Hmmm, I don't get how your ISP would get BL'd if you reported false positive messages from this bbs. I mean, the mail is from here, not from your ISP...I say, hmmm.

But, never mind, soldier ^_^ It's enough that we are finding our own best ways to work with the SpamCop weapons. Uh, I mean 'tools', heh heh. If you find the 100 attack point works for you, great. Sometimes when I really get into it I can up the numbers, waay up. But for normal practice, I'm conservative. Too easy to shoot the piano player. Anyway, I think I'll go report some spam now!

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Hmmm, I don't get how your ISP would get BL'd if you reported false positive messages from this bbs. I mean, the mail is from here, not from your ISP...I say, hmmm.

But, never mind, soldier ^_^ It's enough that we are finding our own best ways to work with the SpamCop weapons. Uh, I mean 'tools', heh heh.

You're right, it's impossible. It was just a coincidence. Anyway, I'm learning how to use SC all the time.

BTW, the other day I heard a commentator on the radio refer to personal computers as major weapon systems that must be responsibly maintained, since they can be easily hijacked and used in DoS attacks and identity theft. I guess that makes them weapons-grade silicon. ;)

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  • 1 month later...
Well, better just ignore me, because I'm finding the bulk delete, Folder Nav, feature to be malfunctioning. See:

http://forum.spamcop.net/forums/index.php?...st=0entry1597

Please note that this particular Customer's problems were fixed in that Topic. Please also note my new Reply in that Topic which discusses practical applications of a little-known Checkbox for managing deleted emails in Webmail.

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