On Mon 09 Nov 2026 at 16:44:16 (+0100), [email protected] wrote: > On Mon, Nov 09, 2026 at 03:06:13PM +0000, Andy Smith wrote: > > On Sun, Nov 08, 2026 at 09:55:52PM -0600, David Wright wrote: > > > IOW, LDOSUBSCRIBER can tell you whether they're subscribed only > > > when the two addresses match. > > > > Sure, I'm aware of the many ways in which people could be reading this > > list while posting to it from an address that is not subscribed. > > [...] > > > I still wonder if there should be some guidance in the list's FAQ. I > > used to make an effort to Cc: people if there was no LDOSUBSCRIBER but > > it now seems so common for there to be not, and I did have one person > > get a bit short with me for copying them.
There does seem to be a penalty for adding Reply-To to a post. I don't understand how SpamAssassin works, but when I receive posts rejected by bendel, I sometimes glance at its² results. For example, https://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2026/09/msg00241.html was at first rejected, entirely because of the " ?" at the end of the Subject line. Here's a list of the first post's non-zero scores: X-Spamd-Result: default: False [7.20 / 999.00]; ¹ REPLYTO_EQ_TO_ADDR(5.00)[]; ←------------------------ ENVFROM_SERVICE_ACCT(1.00)[]; SUBJECT_ENDS_QUESTION(1.00)[]; ←------------------------ FORGED_SENDER(0.30)[[email protected],[email protected]]; ONCE_RECEIVED(0.20)[]; MIME_GOOD(-0.10)[text/plain]; REPLYTO_MX_WHITE(-0.10)[lists.debian.org]; MX_GOOD(-0.10)[mail.lionunicorn.co.uk]; So one point for " ?" tipped it over the limit, yet Reply-To=To is scored as five times more spam-worthy. > Yes, that happens from time to time. Still, given how easy it is for > the original sender to state their wishes in the mail headers (just > set "Mail-Followup-To" or simply "Reply-To", and any civilised MUA > will DTRT [1]), and how hard it is for a responder to guess whether > a copy is necessary or innocuous (or even offending), I'd tend to > put that burden on the senders. Perhaps next time a post is rejected for the Subject line, I'll try substituting Mail-Followup-To first, and see if that tips the balance. ¹ I have no idea what the 999.00 means. ² SpamAssassin's. I have no evidence of what bendel itself is examining, but only that its advice doesn't make sense under the circumstances, the presence/absence of " ?" characters: Diagnostic-Code: smtp; 550 5.7.1 <[email protected]>: Recipient address rejected: Mail appeared to be SPAM or forged. Ask your Mail/DNS-Administrator to correct HELO and DNS MX settings or to get removed from DNSBLs; please relay via your ISP (lionunicorn.co.uk) Cheers, David.
