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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.

14 of 343 comments (clear)

  1. Buzzword Bingo by Lord+Grey · · Score: 5, Funny
    From the company's "About Our Company" page:
    Privately funded in 1993, now with customers in 40 countries* and over $67 million** in cash reserves, the company experienced a phenomenal growth and continues to aggressively pursue new frontiers in order to meet or exceed the needs of most demanding customers by providing a scalable, seamless, comprehensive offering.

    Leveraging our paradigm-shifting product line with state of the art technology developed by a dedicated team of professionals, we offer a significant competitive advantage on the diversified but fragmented market of best of breed anti-spam solutions.

    These people score a 9.8 out of 10 in the Buzzword Bingo game. That second paragraph, in particular, would keep me as far away from them as possible.
    --
    // Beyond Here Lie Dragons
    1. 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 !

    2. Re:Buzzword Bingo by AndroidCat · · Score: 5, Funny

      Ah man, I just needed "synchronicity" or "win-win situation" to fill my card!

      --
      One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
    3. Re:Buzzword Bingo by The-Bus · · Score: 5, Funny

      Damn it, I almost had a double diagonal if they had said "enterprise" and "legacy" --- drat!.

      --

      Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.

    4. Re:Buzzword Bingo by spellraiser · · Score: 5, Funny
      I hereby propose a new mathematical function. It is called BSD (no relation to the OS), short for BullShit-Detector.

      The calculation of BSD is simple. Its domain is the set of all strings. The range is all real numbers from 0.0 - 1.0. To calculate BSD(s) for string s, simply take the length of s (call this l). Then, divide the number of of characters that contribute to the actual, non-bullshit content of the string by l. This is the value of BSD(s).

      To give a pertinent example, it is plainly apparent that BSD('Leveraging our paradigm-shifting product line with state of the art technology developed by a dedicated team of professionals, we offer a significant competitive advantage on the diversified but fragmented market of best of breed anti-spam solutions.') = 0.0.

      It is my hope that this will leverage the ever-expanding work of linguistics researchers around the world in utilizing paradigm-shifting methods for significantly empowering their abilities to detect bullshit.

      --
      I hear there's rumors on the Slashdots
    5. Re:Buzzword Bingo by Chris_Jefferson · · Score: 5, Informative
      What is more impressive is:

      Conveniently located in the heart of Palmyra Atoll, eProvisia LLC is the leading provider of reliable, robust, powerful and cost-efficient spam filtering solutions for world-class corporations and individual users.

      Privately funded in 1993, now with customers in 40 countries* and over $67 million** in cash reserves, ....

      * - Not all currently recognized by UN. ** - Palmyra Atoll dollars.

      Palmyra Atoll is uninhabited, and doesn't have a currency. The phone number is invalid (nowhere has a +78 extension), and what kind of place lists in its address "Islet 7, 5 52 N 162 06 W"?

      I wouldn't have bothered posting this except it seems like both slashdot and most of the people reading this seem to be taking it seriously. It's not.

      --
      Combination - fun iPhone puzzling
    6. Re:Buzzword Bingo by sh0rtie · · Score: 5, Informative


      Funny i know, but actually such an app actually exists
      Deloitte & Touche's Bullfighter

      BullfighterTM is software that runs in Microsoft Word and PowerPoint, within Microsoft Windows 2000 or XP. It works a lot like the spelling and grammar checker in those applications, but focuses on jargon and readability.

    7. Re:Buzzword Bingo by lofoforabr · · Score: 5, Informative

      Just look at the Terms of Service in their page. This must have been put under the wrong slashdot section. It's more suited for the "It's funny. Laugh".

      Terms of Service and Legal Disclaimer

      By viewing pages or using products and services of eProvisia LCC, you acknowledge and consent to the following terms and conditions:

      (1) Warranties and waivers. You understand that there are no guarantees, either expressed or implied, regarding the accuracy, confidentiality or availability of the service. eProvisia LCC may choose to share any information acquired in the course of providing its services with other entities, and may, at its sole discretion and based on this information, take whichever actions the company, its affiliates, subsidiaries, or representatives, consider to be appropriate. You henceforth void your reasonable expectation of privacy, and your constitutional rights to a fair and speedy trial.

      (2) Indemnification. You agree to hold harmless and indemnify eProvisia LCC and its affiliates, subsidiaries, and representatives, from and against any legal claims, including liability for the company not adhering to the terms and conditions of this agreement.

      (3) Choice of Law and Jurisdiction. These Terms of Use will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Uninhabited Sovereign Territory of Palmyra Atoll, without giving effect to its conflict of laws and provisions of your actual state or country of residence. Any claims, legal proceedings, or litigations regarding eProvisia LCC and its affiliates, subsidiaries, and representatives, will be brought solely in and you consent to the jurisdiction of Palmyra Atoll courts.

    8. 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...

  2. With a personal touch by mod_critical · · Score: 5, Funny

    I wonder if they ever verify their decisions with you:

    Mark,
    This is Eric, your spam d00d. You got a message about fisting, you into that? Let me know, thanks!
    -- Eric

    1. Re:With a personal touch by PhotoBoy · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yeah I was thinking that, how well does this solution work for non-graduate drug addicts who have erectile disfunction problems and need a loan?

  3. Re:How about wiki spam by troon · · Score: 5, Informative

    Already baked: it's called Vipul's Razor.

    --
    Ydco co ,df C erb-y go. a Ekrpat t.fxrapev
  4. Re:hilarious by Colonel+Cholling · · Score: 5, Funny

    Coincidentally, $67 million Palmyra Atoll dollars is the estimated value of that Free Dell Desktop PC that's just waiting for those who click on your .sig.

    --

    I am Sartre of the Borg. Existence is futile.
  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