Frequently asked questions- FAQ
- What does client side mean?
- Why did I get this spam - it's not even addressed to me!
- What are email headers
- How do I view headers
- Does freedom of speech apply to spam and spammers?
- Does blocking spam qualify as censorship?
- Isn't spam the same as regular bulk post paper advertising?
What does client side mean?
Client side refers to the workstation people typically perform their work on. Some program tasks are better suited for the server side, and others better suited for the client side. In terms of email or spam filtering, client side, or the client refers to the program used to read and write email. Thunderbird and Outlook are examples of email clients.
Spam filtering is well suited for both client side and server side, depending on which filtering technologies are used. Some admins might prefer to use some of the more heavy weight spam filtering technologies on the server, and employ a secondary filtering scheme on the client - thus client email filter software spam.
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Why did I get this spam - it's not even addressed to me!
The To: field of an email can be misleading. It might contain a bogus email address or even 'undisclosed-recipients'. The To: field is not necessarily the destination of an email, and the Deliver-To header is more authoritative. See rfc974
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What are email headers
Every email you receive is loaded with extra information you don't typically see. These are known as headers, and take the form of header-name: value\n. That is to say, header name, a colon, a space, a value, a linefeed. They can contain a wealth of information that can be used to decipher any number of things - "Why wasn't it blocked as spam", "Where did the email really come from", or any number of questions.
Any time you call someone for technical support, you should have sample emails at the ready, with headers ready to read.
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How do I view headers
This depends on which email client you use. Most are quite simple.
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Thunderbird - Open the email, menu to View / Message Source |
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Eudora - |
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Outlook Express - Right click on the email, menu to Properties / Details / Internet headers |
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Outlook 2000 - Right click on the email, menu to Options / Internet headers |
If you have details on other clients, please use the Contact form to let me know. I will include them here.
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Does freedom of speech apply to spam and spammers?
Well - that's a question for constituional scholars, and the supreme court - if your country is lucky enough to have one. Freedom of speach as protected by the constitution of the united states protects against any and all all laws, federal, state, or local, which makes speache (including the many dubious definitions of speach these days) illegal.
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Does blocking spam qualify as censorship?
No - and who cares! Censorship is when someone prevents you from receiving information you prefer to receive. If you like spam, then go right ahead, nobody is stopping you. But beware of whos network you're abusing, and that banning willing recipients is a property issue, not a censorship one.
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Isn't spam the same as regular bulk post paper advertising?
No - bulk mailers pay for their postage, and more often than not, they are sent by legitimate busnesses. True their materials consume your time just the same, but again - intrusion is the key difference here. Like uninvited faxes - the recipient pays with postage due.
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