I'm forwarding this just because it's the first time I've seen a commercial spam-blocker program that implements sender-pays, so it seemed topical. I don't know if any of their customers have actually implemented that feature (it's got other alternatives like a Bayesian filter and Turing auto-responder) or if anybody has actually bothered to send them mail if they use it. (Their email for it looks like semi-spammy drivel, but they've got permission, because I was once interested in getting updates about one of their other packages and haven't bothered unsubscribing.) Bill -----Original Message----- From: Blue Squirrel [mailto:news@bluesquirrel.com] Sent: Monday, May 19, 2003 11:19 AM To: Stewart, William C (Bill), RTSLS Subject: Letter from Sheri This is probably the 10th e-mail message you've received telling you how you can get rid of junk e-mail messages. But, I found a sweet software package that you might find a little more useful than all of the other anti-spam programs you've heard about. The program is called Spam Sleuth, and it just so happens that Blue Squirrel released an updated version, 2.0.10, last week. How does Spam Sleuth defeat spam? The program uses a Point System. Spam Sleuth has analyzers, and each analyzer: Friends, Spammers,To, Goodwords, Badwords, Profanity, Subject, Attachments, Charsets, HTML Volume, etc. looks at an e- mail a different way and assigns points. The more points an e-mail message receives the more likely it is to be deemed as spam. The less points an e-mail message receives the more likely it is a real gem. Think of it as though it was a contest, and each Analyzer is a different judge, and the messages are the contestants, and Spam Sleuth is the scorekeeper. Every judge looks at the e-mail message and assigns points based on specific criteria. Then all of the points are added together to create an overall total. More points is bad, and less points is good. The point system is clever, and works wonderfully, but the heart of Spam Sleuth has some killer features: Turing Test: If Spam Sleuth accidentally catches a message as spam, it lets the sender type some special letters to show that the message wasn't sent by a mindless machine, and the message is allowed through to your InBox. (Great way to know if you're dealing with a real human on the other end.) This is my favorite because I can be much more aggressive with my settings without worrying I'll miss an important e-mail. E-Mail Stamps: Allows you to charge senders a fee to let an e-mail message through to your inbox. Spam Sleuth sends an email back to the sender and requires them to make a payment via PayPal before the program will allow the message through to your inbox. You configure and decide how much your time is worth, whether it's 5 cents, or a buck. (That's right, you make the spammers pay you to send junk e-mail messages.) Bayesian Analysis: Looks at your previous e-mail and learns the characteristics of spam and good e-mail. Just like a baby, it needs to be taught right from wrong. By marking your messages as Good or Spam, and then Training the Bayesian Analyzer, you can teach it right from wrong. Then it can contribute to the decision of whether a new e-mail is spam or not. (Now that's what I call cloning.) Be sure to check this program out, download a 60 day demo from: http://www.bluesquirrel.com/download/SpamSleuthSetup.exe Sincerely, Sheri P.S. I hooked you up with a discount. So if you call 800-403-0925 or visit http://www.bluesquirrel.com/cart/cart.asp?P=SSS_NL you can get a copy for $19.95 vs. $29.95 normally.