[horde] RE: # [ALERT] Fatal error: (Filters RANT)

[Eric Rostetter]

Quoting swap <swap at graphic-design.com>:

> Well, I guess I'm not crazy after all.

No comment.

> A reader of this list wrote me to inquire about several
> posts I've made over the past few weeks -- ALL UNANSWERED --

Bummer dude.  I've been on vacation myself, or I might have answered more.
Didn't know when I left on vacation I'd have no internet access (went into
withdrawal on the second day...)

> And I'm very frustrated with both the list, and the program.

Or maybe just the installation you use?

> I'm frustrated with the list because I've never seen
> anything like it in all my years of subscribing to lists.

Oh, I've seen much worse (and much better).

> It's as if...
>
>      "Hey, we know it's buggy and doesn't work
>       -- so don't answer him"

Yeah, right.  If that were the case, I wouldn't use the software, and I
sure wouldn't be part of the project.

> Horde's filters seem to be random and arbetrary.

First, there is no such thing as "horde's filters".  There are IMP filters,
sam (spam assassin) filters, ingo filters.  But not Horde filters.

> And it doesn't say which email it stopped on, nor WHY
> it broke. Just that it's now broken.

Unfortunately there are many places in Horde and Horde applications where
error reporting isn't sufficient.  Often it takes someone to point this out
in order for proper error reporting to be added.

> I've spent hundreds of hours on it with no success.

Wow.  That's a lot of hours!  You must be working on this at least 8-12 hours
a day?

> I went to the web-based HORDE interface to get rid of hundreds
> of spams a day BEFORE they reached my local computer email
> client.  It's wonderful for that.

That is how IMP filters work, and the only way they work.  It is also
the way Ingo filters work if using the imap interface.  So if you are
using those setups, then this is the only way it will work.

> My ISP refuses to install Blackhole filters at server level.
> We're being pummled by millions of spams a month.

Blackhole filters alone don't work (block as much non-spam as spam).  You
need a real solution (at a minimum something like spam assassin).

> He knows nothing about HORDE but insists on using it.

He isn't forcing you to use it, is he?

> Surely there's a server level filter that works with HORDE.

Yes, but not in release.  There are two in development, which work with the
Horde development code.

But any server side filter can be set up independently of Horde and work
just fine.  You just need to get the admin to do so.

> If I could get rid of HORDE I would.

Just don't use it.  It's a choice.

> But I'm just a helpless user.

Doesn't sound like it.  You say "I went to the web-based HORDE interface
to get rid of hundreds of spams a day BEFORE they reached my local computer
email client."

So it sounds to me like you can use Horde, or your local computer email client,
or both.  I don't see anyone forcing you to use Horde.

> I've offered to pay for a better software package.

I doubt you will find one.

> I've offered to pay programmers to FIX the darn thing.

Usually not needed if you can explain the problem well or show how to
reproduce it.

> I can't even find a good hacker to hire!

I wouldn't recommend hiring a hacker (in the current use of the term).
Not only is it dangerous to you, it may implicate you in illegal activity
that you will become liable for.

> Now I have to either find a new ISP or Kill my email address
> which has been in use since 1994.  It's sad. Real sad.

Or just implement some other form of filtering.  You don't need to over react
to a simple problem.

> It seems like now there are more criminals on the web than good
> people... if it were a real society we would be doomed. It's sickening.

No, the criminals are just more active.  One criminal can interact with
millions of people a day.  Most users on the net only interact with a few,
or maybe a few hundred, people per day.  But the good people do out number
the bad.  The bad just interact with more people.

> What we need is an email revolution.

The US House just passed their anti-spam/anti-porn bill.  Now it goes to
the Senate.  Maybe it will start your revolution.  Or more likely, it will
fail to make any real difference...

> Fred

I'd try to help you with your problem, but you didn't explain it well enough
in this email, instead just deciding to rant and rave about how bad the
software is.  I doubt I'll find time to search the archives for any previous
postings either.  So if you want help from me, you better repost the
required info (Horde and Horde application versions, what type of filtering
you are talking about, what the exact problem is, etc).

--
Eric Rostetter
The Department of Physics
The University of Texas at Austin

Why get even? Get odd!