ADMIN: Re: [HPFGU-Movie] Harry Potter Spam

[Neil Ward]

Elizabeth Dalton said:

> I am now receiving Harry Potter related spam (unsolicited email
advertising) for
> the first time. (I've been receiving other spam for years.) The HP spam
started
> showing up shortly after my first post to the Movie list. I had posted to
> HPforGrownups previously, with no spam. This suggests to me that someone
on this
> list is harvesting digests for the purposes of spamming. Are others
receiving
> this spam also?

Any spam that gets sent to this list is deleted and the sender email is
banned from all our lists.  If anyone is receiving offlist HP spam that
appears to be related to the list (e.g. from a fellow list member), please
let the moderators know and we'll look into it.

Please don't respond further on list; send the details to:

hpforgrownups-owner AT yahoogroups.com

> The membership of this list is currently open (as is the book list, for
that
> matter), which means no attempt is made to screen members. On some lists
I'm on,
> members have to fill out a short questionnaire, for example, which
hopefully
> deters spammers at least slightly. (Though I can imagine trying to keep up
with
> new membership applications on a list the size of either of these is a
pain, and
> it is, of course, impossible to truly verify each member once you get
beyond a
> dozen or so.)

The Movie list is open, yes, but status on the main (book discussion) list
was changed recently.  All new members there are now placed on moderated
status, and we have a team of people reviewing first posts to the list.
That system also serves to pick up spam, trolls and flamers before they
reach the list, although it doesn't prevent them from joining up.

Naturally, behind the scenes, we discuss the problems of administrating the
HPFGU lists and we have more than once considered and rejected such options
as screening quizzes and closing or restricting membership.  These ideas are
revisited from time to time, but, rest assured, we have not overlooked them
in our discussions.

If anyone has suggestions or comments, we're always happy to receive these
offlist; it's great to get input from everyone, but please don't post to the
lists themselves.

Thanks

Neil
HPfGU Moderator Team