Re: available news/mail filtering

[jadestar@netcom.com (JaDe)]

> 
> Beavis B. Thoopit wrote:
> 
> | What news and mail filter programs are available?  Pointers
> | will be appreciated.
> 
> I like procmail.  Its a steep learning curve, but well worth the
> effort.
> 
> ftp.informatik.rwth-aachen.de:/pub/packages/procmail/procmail.tar.gz 

	I disagree about the grade of the curve.  However I might 
	have bumped into better learning resources.  I'd suggest
	the following URL (lynx clean for us non-GUI CLImbers and 
	CLUEful types)*:

	http://www.jazzie.com/ii/faqs/archive/mail/filtering-faq/

	This is maintained by Nancy McGough (nancym@ii.com??).

	She and Stephen R. van den Berg (author of procmail) are
	active on the procmail mailing list:
		procmail@informatik.rwth-aachen.de

	And of course, subscription and information requests 
	for this list to:
		procmail-request@informatik.rwth-aachen.de

		----------------------------------------

	I suppose (since this is my first posting to cypherpunks)
	I might as well introduce myself.  I've been lurking on the 
	list for about two weeks.  This is the busiest list that
	I'm subscribed to.  By comparison the Pegasus Mail list 
	only gets a hundred messages a day.  Well that one's at work
	so I see it every day -- the ones here at netcom I might
	flake on for a few days at a time.

	I've had a mild (armchair) interest in crypto since I was 
	in high school.  I heard of this list via netnews but actually
	got the address from someone at a Kabuki-west (a fairly
	small, discreet Bay Area social mailing list that's used to organize
	weekly dinners at area restaurants and announce other food related
	events to aspiring computer nerds -- such as me-- and other 
	professionals).

	Given my lack of schooling and formal study on the subject 
	I probably won't have much to say on this list.  Given the 
	volume of postings, and the relatively high signal to noise
	ratio (lots more politics than actual discussion of the 
	technology from what I've seen) I'll be very lucky if I can
	wade through all this on weekends.

	My name is Jim Dennis.  I'm a sysadmin (and webmaster, postmaster,
	and backup Netware supervisor) for a medium-sized software 
	publisher in the Bay Area.  I used to do tech support for 
	places like Quarterdeck and Symantec.  I've also done some 
	SQA.  Most of my experience is with DOS/Windows and PC's --
	but most of my recent work is on Linux, FreeBSD, SunOS and 
	Solaris.  I most frequently post answers to the *.lang.awk
	newsgroups (which I'm writing an FAQ for). 

	JaDeStar = Ja(mes) De(nnis) + Star(shine) [my girlfriend].
	There's an alias to this account: starshine@netcom.com
	which hits a procmail script and gets redirected to Heather's
	(Starshine's) current e-mail address at work.  This has been the 
	easiest way to ensure a continuity to her e-mail address
	from one employer to another.   She hardly ever logs into 
	this account otherwise.

	If you want to know more about me -- ask in e-mail (off the 
	list).