ARCHIVED: How can I prevent spam and harassing messages from going to my Majordomo list?

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UITS has retired the Majordomo list server at Indiana University Bloomington. If you were the primary owner of an IUB Majordomo list, you can no longer use it to send mail. If you'd like to create a new mailing list, anyone with an IU Network ID username and passphrase can request a LISTSERV list. For instructions, see ARCHIVED: At IU, how do I request a new LISTSERV list? Also, for a collection of documents with general LISTSERV information, and information about owning and subscribing to LISTSERV lists at IU, see the Knowledge Base menu ARCHIVED: LISTSERV, distribution lists, and mass mailing.

With the explosion of multilevel marketing on the Internet, the amount of spam, or undesired email solicitations, has risen exponentially. Unfortunately, these solicitors, or spammers, frequently use mailing lists as a way to spread their advertisements. Also, in much less common circumstances, spam is used to harass large groups of people with hate language and threats.

Fortunately, there are ways to protect your subscribers from this unwanted mail. Although they don't provide complete protection, they can help you reduce the incidents to a negligible number.

Moderating your list

Moderating your list can require extra work on your part, but it is the best way to guarantee that your subscribers are not bothered by unwanted mail. All messages sent to your list will require approval by someone on your designated approval list. In most cases, that is only the list owner. For more information on creating and managing a moderated Majordomo list, see the following Knowledge Base documents:

Restricting posting

Restricting posting to only the current subscribers is another alternative. This will virtually eliminate messages from people outside the list, but will only be effective if you close your list. For more information on restricting and closing a Majordomo list, see the following Knowledge Base documents: