OT:Relays: Dumb question

[Doc Shipley]

John Lawson wrote:

>   So I have a classic naive question:

   Good that you said "naive".  I don't believe in dumb questions.  ;)
> 
> Why does there not exist a 'throttling mechanism' at every step, 
> counting e-mails per minute, and directing messages above that threshold 
> (and that are 'substantially similar)' to dev\null.

   Because there are typically only 2 steps where the mail is handled as 
mail, rather than routed raw packets.  (Ignoring redirected mail and such)

   The user's "outgoing mail server" and the destination domain's mail 
exchanger are those two steps.  Both hosts *should* have controls in 
place which evaluate and limit what is accepted and what is passed on. 
Transactions per second per submitting host is available as a control.

>  That would simply stop bulk mailers cold -  of course it's easy to 
> conceive of these things when one has no concept of how the "system" 
> works as whole...  which I of course most assuredly do not.

   If any majority percentage of mail servers used the available 
anti-spam software and safeguards, there wouldn't *be* a spam industry. 
  The root issue is the same as it ever was - uninformed and apathetic 
administrators.


	Doc