I run a GNU Mailman list for GP-US' International Committee. This morning a message came through with "***SPAM***" in its subject line. Spamassassin gave it a 9.0. That subject line alteration occurs at 8.3.

The message contains a complete copy of an essay from blackagendareport.com questioning the veracity and motives of the "Save Darfur" media blitz. It's a perspective that needs to be heard.

Spamassassin didn't like seeing all those names of African nations and large dollar amounts spelled out in English. No one feature triggered the tag; it was cumulative. It's one more topic (after women's reproductive health issues) you can't talk about easily in email without triggering spam defenses.

The person who posted the message to usgp-int did everything wrong. He added no original text, not one word. Just the URL followed by every word of the essay.

That's stupid, folks. And lazy as hell. If you must point out a "really interesting" blog entry, newspaper article, cartoon, etc., there is a right way to do it. Write a few words of your own describing why the thing is interesting, and why it's relevant to the list you're posting to, followed by the title of the piece, maybe its author, and the URL. That's enough. Maybe copy the first sentence or two Very few people with personal email are unable to read web pages. If it's worth the time of everybody on the list, then it's worth a minute or two of your time to post properly.

He addressed the message to the list and a whole bunch of people he knew full well are subscribed to it. They'll get two copies. Lazy as hell, and rude.

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