The list should be closed to non-subscribers. Subscribers should be
moderated. I would not expect that this list gets a great deal of new
subscribers.

William Dale
If you build an idiot-proof program, the world will build a better
idiot . . .


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Mike Berman [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Thursday, March 28, 2002 5:56 AM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      ADMIN: Spam threshold reached?
>
> In the 8 years that the Team Ada list has been in existence we have
> always had high quality, high participation and low noise.
>
> However, our longevity may be our undoing. The occasional spam e-mail
> distributed to the list has grown to an onslaught, as evidenced by the
> amount of spam received in just the last two days. There is no evidence
> that this will subside - as discussed a few weeks ago, several of us are
> very diligent in reporting spam through channels such as SpamCop.
> Whether this is effective or whether it potentially invites more spam is
> hard to tell, but the spam continues.
>
> I believe that it is time to take action to prevent the spam from
> reaching our mailboxes. We have several options: we can close the list
> to addresses other than subscribers, we can move the list to another
> host server, we can shut down the list completely. There may be
> mechanisms to block certain offending domains from our list (the
> majority of our spam appears to come from one or two domains) - as list
> owner, I will investigate this and other such possibilities.
>
> What I would like to do in the short term is open up discussion on this
> topic, with the intent of reaching a quick and succinct resolution. I
> regret the inconvenience of an "off topic" discussion, but in the long
> term the intent is to keep the list viable for its actual purpose.
>
> The discussion period will end at 6 PM PST (9 PM EST) Sunday, April 7,
> 2002. During the discussion period, please suggest ways in which we can
> keep this list active and alive while substantially reducing or
> eliminating the flow of spam. Please preface the subject line of
> discussion messages with "FUTURE: ", so that Team Ada subscribers who do
> not wish to participate may easily identify them for deletion.
>
> The result of the discussion period will be a ballot that will be
> circulated to the list detailing options for the future of the Team Ada
> list. Votes from the balloting will be due by 6 PM PDT Sunday, April 14,
> and the majority opinion resulting from the ballot will be implemented.
>
> Thanks,
> Mike Berman
> Team Ada list admin