Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Human-Powered Spam Filtering

Posted by Hemos on from the interesting-concept dept.

arturs writes "A company called eProvisia started an unusal business: they filter out spam not by using complicated algorithms, but human beings... It costs around $20/year - is the war against spam over?" It's an interesting idea - the privacy concerns are big of course, but how would this stack up to, say SpamAssassin or a suite like Barracuda's Spam firewall. We tested the Barracuda device - great integration of OSS software, with a nice interface. Update: 09/20 15:12 GMT by J : Corrected price of Spam Eradicator.

6 of 343 comments (clear)

  1. It's yearly, not monthly by brucmack · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The $20/month figure sounded a little high until I read that it is $19.95/year, not per month.

    That being said, I don't know if I see the benefit of paying someone else to read my email. They even offer more expensive packages to have them categorize and summarize your mail for you, as well as discard non-spam mails that you don't want anyway. I suppose it could be useful for really busy executive types, but then can't they afford secretaries anyway?

  2. Re:Buzzword Bingo by JaffaKREE · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Modded funny, but I agree 100%. Who writes these things ?? Do they start with a list of 20 words (Paradigm, leverage, diversify) and have their managers tell them those words MUST be included ?? Yeesh !

  3. Spam won't be gone until... by GoMMiX · · Score: 4, Insightful

    People stop trying to profit so much to help reduce or stop it...

    I'm not sure who's worse anymore, the companies out there who sell services to 'help' you reduce/eliminate spam, or the spammers. (Maybe one in the same, in some instances)..

    The only resolution I see to spam is good, solid legislation THAT IS ENFORCED. Country harbors spammers, cut them off from the US internet. Spammers AND the companies that hire them BOTH held equally liable. If it's a criminal act to spam, it's a criminal act to hire someone to spam.

    People can write programs all day to try and stop spam, it won't matter. If someone can write a program to filter x out, someone else will find a way to get y through. It's an endless cycle.

    Spam is like a virus in so many ways...

  4. Re:Buzzword Bingo by gl4ss · · Score: 4, Insightful

    yeah and would like a bunch of buzzword bozos to READ EVERY DAMN MAIL YOU GET??????????????????

    personally i just think though that they use some filters to help..

    --
    world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
  5. It's a joke. by Rabin+Vincent · · Score: 5, Insightful
    Why?
    1. The site is hosted at eprovisia.dione.cc, and dione.cc is something of a Polish linux group's website, of which our friend arturs is a member.
    2. The "company" is "incorporated" at "Palmyra Atoll, a small nature preserve somewhere near Hawai'i. There's nothing there but nature.
    3. The geographical co-ordinates are in the postal address: Islet 7, 5 52 N 162 06 W.
    4. There's no +78 dialling code.

      This is a great joke, and once more Slashdot's been had.

      -Rabin

  6. Re:Buzzword Bingo by Andrewkov · · Score: 5, Insightful
    You *are* aware that this site is a hoax, aren't you?

    I just wonder if Hemos knew that when he posted it...