[WEB4LIB] RE: re webmaster address on web site

[Keith Higgs]

Regretably, I have to admit to having had my e-address on all of our
pages.  I'm gradually whittling down the amount of spam I get.  The
Korean and Chinese spam are the trickiest.  I've actually started to
recognize the "unsubscribe" and "reject" links in those things.

I now have a link to a form.  Additionally, the Perl script that
processes the form does not contain my e-address in a recognizeable
form. Our server has an installation of safePerl that includes a mail()
function. The mail() function takes four arguments, (subjectHeader,
fromAddress, toAddress, bodyContent).

For example:

$WM_Initials = 'dkh';
$WM_MailSrvr = 'po.cwru.edu'
$themagicnumber = 2;

mail ( 
	$MessageSubject, 
	$PatronFromAddress, 
	$WM_Initials$themagicnumber\@$WM_MailSrvr, 
	$MessageBodyContent 
);

I defy any conventional bot to reassemble my address out of that!

If safePerl allowed me to use any of the encrypt(), decrypt() or
password() functions I'd make it even harder.

Keith
D. Keith Higgs <mailto:dkh2 at po.cwru.edu>
 Case Western Reserve University, Webmaster - University Library
 Additional Information at http://www.cwru.edu/UL/
"Follow the white rabbit."


-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib at webjunction.org [mailto:web4lib at webjunction.org]
On Behalf Of Bosman, Don
Sent: Thursday, August 08, 2002 04:26 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [WEB4LIB] RE: re webmaster address on web site


I agree with most of your list of dumbest blunders, but not about the
webmasters email address. 
Leaving off the webmaster's email address will help in keeping their
Spam allotment down. 
If it must be there, put it in as a graphic of the address to prevent
bots from adding the address to their collections. 
If one must have a click able way of mailing the web master, send the
post to a database file that can't be spammed. 

Don Bosman
Information Technologist
Michigan State University Libraries
517-353-8586
dbosman at mail.lib.msu.edu


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Paul Taylor [mailto:ptaylor at tln.lib.mi.us]
> Sent: Thursday, August 08, 2002 2:31 PM
> To: Multiple recipients of list
> Subject: [WEB4LIB] RE: Library Websites that think locally
> 
> 
> How about no e-contact information (i.e.: webmaster, etc.)? -Paul
>