[TriLUG] Designing a new SMTP [Was: Re: [TriLUG] Another sealbroken... thinking of installing a C/R anti-spam system]

[Byarlay, Wayne A.]

Remember that urban legend that the U.S. Government was going to outlaw
all SMTP servers, except for those run by the U.S. Post office? Ha ha
ha! But anyway:

Exciting ideas! I have never worked on SMTP but I've used it since 1991
or so. This is all strictly from a user standpoint. Let me just
stream-of-conciousness a few ideas in my head...

Going back to the USPS urban legend, think for a moment about how e-mail
does, and doesn't, mirror snail mail. Spammers can essentially set up
their own "Post Office", and this is bad. My proposal would be that
Trilug-SMTP be made of a network of servers that work on a
graylist/trust type of method. For instance:

There are 15 servers happily running T-SMTP. They regularly communicate
with each other about who is trusted. I set up my T-SMTP server, and by
default, I'm a trusted new member of the group. However, my server
starts routing large amounts of e-mail in a short period of time(Flag
#1), most of which is caught by the built-in T-SMTP spam filters (flag
#2), and finally, is reported to be "junk" by users. (another feature of
my imaginary T-SMTP). In fact, many of the fifteen T-SMTP are casting a
wayward eye at my rogue T-SMTP server, and thus it gets individually
blacklisted by those particular servers. Now, your T-SMTP server may
have a threshold level that says, "If sixty percent of my trusted T-SMTP
fellows blacklist an IP, then I too shall blacklist that IP." Then
later, if it is revealed that my T-SMTP server had been hacked, and I
REALLY NEED the T-SMTP world to trust me, I'd have to re-initiate a
"Please remove me from the blacklist!" You have configured your T-SMTP
server to give me, say, Three chances to automatically re-instate you as
a member. But then, if I continue to spam, I get flagged AGAIN, not only
by users manually and servers automatically, but I have a previous
record! A rap sheet! Blacklisted again, and this time, there is not
redemption: My IP shall never be trusted again.

There are pitfalls to this idea, I'm sure, but like I said: I'm a user,
not an admin of SMTP. I just want to help! I HATE SPAM!!! :)

One final note: E-mail clients that allow HTML <a href are LAME!!! It is
due to a client which tries to be helpful but causes harm, that allow
phishers to steal millions of dollars. It drives me crazy. My circuits
are overloaded. Must stop typing now.

wab