Question about filters

[TimK]

Hello,

I'd like to know whether there's any way to force filtering (the kind that sorts E-mails into various folders, NOT spam filtering!) to be done on every incoming E-mail.

The reason for this is that I have searched in vain for a Mac OS X E-mail client that does this kind of filtering and doesn't FORGET my filtering rules between runs :angry:. If I could get SpamCop to do the filtering for me, I wouldn't need rules in the client.

Best,

Tim

[dbiel]

That is something a lot of us would like.

At present the best available requires that you log into WebMail, and dependant upon how you have your preference set can run your personal filters at time of log in.

If you are poping your mail without logging into WebMail, there is currently no way to utilize the personal filters.

[StevenUnderwood]

I'd like to know whether there's any way to force filtering (the kind that sorts E-mails into various folders, NOT spam filtering!) to be done on every incoming E-mail.

34022[/snapback]

And this would sort them into folders on the server. Then you would need to access those folders via IMAP as POP would only download the Inbox folder (POP does not recognize folders) so you would still need your client for that.

Does not Eudora have a Mac client? I use ther windows product to do extensive filtering with no problems.

Otherwise, what application are you having problems with filtering and perhaps we can move this conversation to the lounge or another forum and get that working properly.

[TimK]

And this would sort them into folders on the server.  Then you would need to access those folders via IMAP as POP would only download the Inbox folder (POP does not recognize folders) so you would still need your client for that. 

Accessing them via IMAP is what I'm doing, and I'm content with that. I particularly like this solution since I had my previous PowerBook stolen in August and lost a lot of E-mail with it.

Does not Eudora have a Mac client?  I use ther windows product to do extensive filtering with no problems.

Otherwise, what application are you having problems with filtering and perhaps we can move this conversation to the lounge or another forum and get that working properly.

34024[/snapback]

Apple Mail doesn't have problems with filtering this way, but it has other problems that make me not like it.

Both Mozilla Thunderbird and Microsoft Entourage tend to forget my rules between runs. Thunderbird usually just drops a few of my rules, while Entourage resets all of them to dump everything into the INBOX (root) folder on the SpamCop server.

I'll give Eudora Light a whirl, and possibly the sponsored version as well. (I do love trying out new software!)

Thanks to both of you for your help and suggestions.

Best,

Tim

[TimK]

Well, I didn't like Eudora's interface at all, I'm sorry to say. I dumped it about five minutes after I downloaded it. Steven, I'm glad you're happy with it; it's just not for me.

Any other ideas? I don't see that logging into Webmail is a good way to handle this (I only log into Webmail when I need to report spam, and I don't want to have to log in just to force filtering to kick in).

I also want to say that I do realize that kicking off filtering on every incoming E-mail would be a lot of extra processing for the SpamCop servers, which have enough to deal with already. Perhaps I should consider forwarding all my E-mail from SpamCop to another provider that does offer this capability. Hmm.

Best,

Tim

[dbiel]

Have you checke out How I use spam Cop, A detailed example yet?

[TimK]

Have you checke out How I use spam Cop, A detailed example yet?

34084[/snapback]

Nope, but I have now, thanks.

I don't want to sort my E-mail into folders manually, though. That's the whole point. I like to sort my E-mail on various criteria: I have separate folders for certain mailing lists, a separate folder for one friend who sends me A LOT of politically-oriented E-mail, and one folder called "NoReply" where I like to put a lot of stuff that I want to read, but that doesn't need a reply. That way I can just leave stuff in the Inbox that needs to be replied to. Once I've replied to it, I move it (yes, manually ) to another folder called "Replied."

I want something to consistently do all this sorting for me. That's what computers are for, IMO.

I've actually signed up for a trial account at imap-partners.net. A friend of mine swears by them, and if I read their Web site correctly, you can set up filters there that will sort incoming E-mail.

[Jeff G.]

Thanks for the recommendation, Tim. FYI, per http://www.imap-partners.net/pricing.shtml, there's a free trial for a month and then the billing starts, priced at a minimum of US$7.95 per 3 months (US$31.80 per year). Of the free IMAP or IMAP-like accounts I currently use (MSN Hotmail, FastMail.FM, MochaMail.com, MailAndNews.com, and MyRealBox.com (the last three of which were not allowing new user signups last I checked)), I don't remember seeing sophisticated working server-side filtering rule capabilities, but I'll check and update this Topic.

P.S. Yes, I have a collection of free email accounts (POP, IMAP, HTTP, and Forwarding, each with their own set of caveats). They help me troubleshoot on live systems, separate fact from fiction, and sometimes even get pressed into service for some sort of production need. While I'm writing of free email accounts, I'm also in a position at this time to offer a limited number (I have over 40 left for this purpose) of free forwarding accounts on a personal anti-spam domain with a name two characters shorter than cesmail.net and a simple AUP (subject to change with notice to users and this Topic): "Users are expected to abide by applicable laws and commonly accepted social and Internet conventions, including RFCs, Internet Standards, SpamCop Rules, ICANN Rules and Agreements, and their and my ISPs' and MSPs' AUPs, TOSs, rules, policies, and procedures, and are also expected not to: get me or my domain in trouble; reveal personal information about me; associate the domain name or their forwarding address with me; or do (or not do) anything to increase my spam load. Anyone caught violating the above or using an email address on this domain in an antisocial or abusive manner (at my sole discretion) will: lose their priviliges; have the evidence, any future emails, and anything else I can find out about them subject to public reporting and ridicule; and be subject to a fine of US$1,000 per antisocial or abusive act, where 'act' includes each intended recipient in a 'RCPT TO' command used in attempted delivery by the user or its heir, successor, or assign of an antisocial or abusive email, and each hit on a web page featuring antisocial or abusive behavior by the user or its heir, successor, or assign. Potential users may be refused info or service for any reason whatsoever." Of course: implementation of the fine would necessitate revealing the user's legal name & address in advance, out-of-band contact details like phone numbers would be very helpful in case something really bad were to happen at my MSP, and the user's forwarding destination email address would be necessary for the forwarding to actually work; revealing the domain name in public as in any way related to me (especially on these Forums, SpamCop newsgroups, Usenet, or the Web) would tend to increase my spam load; for users in good standing, I promise to keep their info confidential, not to sell or rent lists of them, and not to spam them, but I reserve the right to send all my users important notices, including AUP and TOS changes at my ISPs and MSPs (they need to know about such changes so that they can keep from violating the AUPs and TOSs) which may contain advertising from my ISPs and/or MSPs; I expect users whose excess usage (and/or additional needs like POP or SMTP from my MSP) cost(s) me excess money to pay for that excess usage and/or those additional needs; and if anyone wants to donate for that or any other service, I won't object (I accept PayPal, US Mail, and visits from couriers that will visit New Jersey, USA residences).

P.P.S. I don't consider the above to be spam because I don't anticipate making money from it.

[TimK]

Hey Jeff,

The filtering on my trial account at imap-partners.net is working beautifully. :-) So I'm a happy camper and will be converting to a paid account soon.

But here's another (SpamCop-related, even) question for everyone: How do I add imap-partners.net to my mailhosts at SpamCop? I've looked in the Options but can't find anything, and a piece of junk mail that went to my imap-partners.net account failed spam reporting after I'd transferred it back to the Held Mail folder on my account at SpamCop.

Best,

Tim

[dbiel]

It should work just like adding any other mailhost.

Go to your mailhost set up and click on add

You will find a like to mailhost in the menu bar at the top of the reporting screen.

Since this seems to the a last stop in a forward chain, you should probably reregister all you mailhost in the proper reverse order.

[TimK]

It should work just like adding any other mailhost.

Go to your mailhost set up and click on add

You will find a like to mailhost in the menu bar at the top of the reporting screen.

Since this seems to the a last stop in a forward chain, you should probably reregister all you mailhost in the proper reverse order.

34196[/snapback]

Thanks. It was the "in the menu bar at the top of the reporting screen" I didn't get. (I rarely go to that page and hadn't saved the fact that there was a Mailhosts link in the menu bar in my memory.)

Since SpamCop is already trusting my other mailhosts, why would I need to re-register those mailhosts? (I'm not trying to quibble, just trying to learn.)

Best,

Tim

[Wazoo]

Since SpamCop is already trusting my other mailhosts, why would I need to re-register those mailhosts? (I'm not trying to quibble, just trying to learn.)

34200[/snapback]

You might want to take a look at my recent request for help on building a walk-through on a forwarded-forwarded-forwarded MailHost scenario ... some dialog there that 'may' help ... And noting a bit later ...that conversation is over in the MailHost Configuration forum section .. which is where any following dialog on your last query should be placed ....

[StevenUnderwood]

Since SpamCop is already trusting my other mailhosts, why would I need to re-register those mailhosts? (I'm not trying to quibble, just trying to learn.)

34200[/snapback]

You might not, but just test carefully to be sure, then post your results to the thread Wazoo just mentioned with your results. If you simply do your mailhost config directly to your account at imap-partners and confirm that, you could be all set.

I have rearranged my forwarding several times with no modifications to the mailhosts but this was a while back. I used to forward all spamcop messages to my ISP account until that started receiving too much spam. Now my ISP forwards to Spamcop and I pick it up there.

[dbiel]

I agree with Steven, but perfer the better safe than sorry approach.

The key thing, no matter which way you go, is to make sure you check the parsere results very carefully at first, just in case something does go wrong.

You can parse anything without causing any problems, it is when you click on send reports that the potential problems become an issue.

[turetzsr]

<snip>

The key thing, no matter which way you go, is to make sure you check the parsere results very carefully at first, just in case something does go wrong.

<snip>

34225[/snapback]

...My own advice would be the same but dropping the "at first" part. I've been caught before by a change in the architecture of my employer's incoming servers which rendered my MailHosts configuration incomplete. Others have hinted at similar things due to changes made by their ISPs or MSPs (e-Mail Service Providers).

[TimK]

You might not, but just test carefully to be sure, then post your results to the thread Wazoo just mentioned with your results.  If you simply do your mailhost config directly to your account at imap-partners and confirm that, you could be all set. 

I have rearranged my forwarding several times with no modifications to the mailhosts but this was a while back.  I used to forward all spamcop messages to my ISP account until that started receiving too much spam.  Now my ISP forwards to Spamcop and I pick it up there.

34220[/snapback]

Thanks again, Steven (and everyone else). I simply configured the new account in the Mailhosts system and it seems to have worked fine. I will keep a close eye on it, though.

As for your second description of what you're doing (having SpamCop be the last stop for your mail), as I'm sure you understand, I can't do that because the last stop for my mail needs to do all that filtering on incoming mail that SpamCop won't do. This setup seems to be working well so far -- IMAP Partners has even managed to catch the spam that SpamCop hasn't caught, dumping it into my "Junk Mail" folder there, so I can easily move it back to the "Held Mail" folder on my SpamCop account for reporting.

Best,

Tim

[dbiel]

Do you think that you might be able to take the time to add your story to our How We Use SpamCop, Detailed Examples topic? It sounds like an interesting varriation.

[TimK]

Do you think that you might be able to take the time to add your story to our How We Use SpamCop, Detailed Examples topic?  It sounds like an interesting varriation.

34259[/snapback]

Done. PM me (there is PM capability here, no?) with any suggestions for improvements and I'll edit the post. And thanks for the suggestion to add to that thread!

Best,

Tim

[Wazoo]

Done. PM me (there is PM capability here, no?) with any suggestions for improvements and I'll edit the post. And thanks for the suggestion to add to that thread!

34673[/snapback]

Thanks for taking the time to write it up and post that excellent entry.

A small aside, I've noted on a large number of other support venues, be it Forum, newsgroup, mailing-list, whatever ... that discussions (especially recommendations) for other/competing products are usually very actively discouraged, usually by munging of details, closing of threads, or simple deletion .... it is interesting to note the number of "other" products that get referenced, discussed, incorporated, fed by, etc. in the SpamCop.net support venues, even though the large portion of the toolset is owned by "large corporation" ....

[Jeff G.]

Yes, these Forums would probably be rather different if there was a "trash the competition" and "sell sell sell" mentality here fueled by some sort of incentive program.