Date: Sun, 8 Dec 2002 10:49:48 -0800 (PST) To: (Vintners Net Customers) Subject: spam prevention -- sendemail script implementation A brief followup on using the 'sendemail' script. If your greatest concern is that it is as easy as possible for the user to get their email to you, with the minimum of hassle, you most certainly want to use the "option D" of the script. This flavor gives the user a webpage which allows them to directly type in what they want to say -- they never go into their mailer at all. This is good in many ways: a) No confusing email addresses are ever presented -- no need to edit the given address. In fact, they need not even know that this form data gets to you via email. b) They don't have to have already set up their mailer (perhaps they're visiting your website from a computer that's not their usual one). c) Your email address is never presented at all -- thus it cannot be harvested for spam use. d) It bypasses Vintners.Net spam prevention techniques -- the email is actually sent by the webserver, originating within the Vintners.Net firewall. Thus, even if the sender is on a domain that is listed in the Vintners.Net spam Blacklist, their email will still get through to you. (In the future if this proves to be a problem, the script can be changed to check the blacklist, but at this time I consider this a feature.) Best of luck! -- Mike Lempriere; http://vintners.net/~mikel/ WA State resident: junk email prohibited by law: RCW19.190 & RCW19.86