[Rhodes22-list] Complaint to List Admin

[John Lock]

At 11:12 AM 11/13/2008 -0500, you wrote:
>Thanks for the suggestion and it seems like a good idea, but I can't seem to
>make it work.   The main problem is that on my machine list-serve emails are
>from "rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org", not from Herb Parsons.  Can you suggest a
>solution that will work with Outlook's rules manager?

OK, a few things to cover here -

1) A careful review of the e-mail headers from the list will reveal 
that the "From:" header is always the sender's address (not the list 
address).  However, it gets more complicated under the hood.  There 
is a second "from" header called the SMTP envelope sender (sometimes 
shown as the "return-path" or "from" header) and that will be the 
list address.  Think about it like a postal letter with one return 
address on the envelope, but a different one on the letter inside.

My test with an old version of Outlook Express filtered list mail 
based on the "From:" address, not the list address.  However, it may 
be that newer versions (or full Outlook) actually use the SMTP 
envelope address as "from" in the filter rules, which is not helpful 
for this purpose.  Not sure how you filter in that case.  The problem 
for email software developers is that mail headers are easily forged, 
so it's difficult to decide which to filter and which to present to a 
user without confusion.

2) If you are reading the digest version of the list, sorry, there's 
not much you can do.  The digested compilations are addressed from 
the list server and not an individual.   You'll just have to mentally 
skip the parts that you don't want to read.  Alternatively, turn 
Digest mode off and then you can filter more precisely (unless you're 
hobbled by Outlook).

3) I fired up my old, unused copy of Outlook Express and tried a 
quick test.  It seems to filter list mail as expected by "From:" 
address.   I opened an e-mail from the list, pulled down the 
"Message" menu and clicked "Block Sender".   Seemed to do the right 
thing.  You might need to adjust your procedure based on the version 
of Outlook you have.

I don't use Outlook, so this is speculation based on a quick review 
of my dormant copy.  Maybe folks who are proficient in Outlook can 
fill in the details.

Also, other mail software (or add-on spam filters) will give you more 
precise filtering options.

Cheers!

John Lock
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s/v Pandion - '79 Rhodes 22
Lake Sinclair, GA
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