src/content/community/articles/interviews/holger-stenzhorn.html - netbeans-website-cleanup - Git at Google

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 <h1>NetBeans Community Interview<br>
 </h1>

     <span style="font-style: italic;">December 2010</span><br>


 <h4>Holger Stenzhorn: Spam-Stopper for NetBeans Mailing Lists</h4>
 <br>
 Unsolicited emails, otherwise known as spam, are the bane of inboxes,
 mailing lists, forums, and websites everywhere. Keeping the NetBeans
 mailing lists spam-free or at a minimum "spam-lite" are <a href="https://netbeans.org/community/contributors.html#mailing_mist_moderators">NetBeans mailing list moderators</a>--community
 volunteers who sign up to shield other users from dubious offers for
 luxury watches, discounted pharmaceuticals, bank transfer requests, and
 so on. In this profile, NetBeans user and mailing list moderator <a href="http://purl.org/holger">Holger
 Stenzhorn</a>, who stepped down recently from his spam-fighting duties,
 gives a brief account of his time in the trenches.<br>
 <br>


 <h5><img style="width: 144px; height: 144px;" alt="Holger Stenzhorn, NetBeans Mailing List Moderator" src="../../../images_www/articles/interviews/holger-stenzhorn.jpg" hspace="7" vspace="7" align="left">Please tell us about your experience as a NetBeans user.
     </h5>
 I've been using the NetBeans IDE since the year 2000 in both commercial
 and research settings for developing prototypes and real applications
 in the areas of natural language processing, information
 retrieval/extraction/management, and recently in Semantic Web.
 <br>

 <br>

 <h5>How did you take up the crusade against unsolicited
 messages on the NetBeans mailing lists?<br>
 </h5>I had participated previously in several <a href="http://wiki.netbeans.org/NetCAT">NetCAT</a> programs when Jiri
 Kovalsky, the program manager, asked if I would like to "take on" spam
 as a community task. I agreed because it
 was a chance to help the NetBeans community and to show my
 appreciation for a great tool.<br>

 <br>

 <h5>What was your strategy to keep the NetBeans mailing lists clean?<br>
 </h5>It was quite simple: I trained the spam filter in my Thunderbird
 email client to
 the extent that filtering happened (almost) automatically. Luckily,
 this approach worked very well because without automated help checking
 every item of mail would have been
 impossible.<br>

 <br>

 <h5>You must have
 seen all manner of messages while in the moderator role. What patterns or types stood out for you?</h5>
 My impression was that a lot, if not most, of the spam messages
 originated from Russia and China, and they had similar content
 patterns, for example, offers for "interesting" products. What I found
 quite annoying though were requests from actual individuals to the
 mailing lists to become social-networking "friends".<br>

 <br>

 <h5>After 2.5 years, would you consider yourself a "spam expert"?&nbsp; What tips do you have for curtailing spam attacks?</h5>

 No, I am not a "spam" expert since I never really dived into the
 origins of spam messages. I have simply "suffered" a bit more
 than the usual user when it comes to exposure! My tip is to take your time and train the
 spam filter of your email application well and you should see a reduction in spam.<br>
 <br>
 <h5>A spam-free world: Possibility or pipe-dream?<br>
 </h5>


 If no sensible technological measures are introduced, then I doubt that we will ever be free from spam.
 We definitely need increasingly stronger automated measures integrated into email clients to help reduce spam.<br>


 <br>

 <h5>Any last words as you step down from your list moderating duties?</h5>

 Good luck to future spam assassins!<br>

 <br>
 <br>Find out ways to <a href="https://netbeans.org/community/index.html">contribute to the NetBeans Community</a>, and learn about other <a href="https://netbeans.org/community/contributors.html">community contributors</a>.<br>
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	<meta http-equiv="CONTENT-TYPE" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">


	<title>NetBeans Community Moderator Holger Stenzhorn</title>


	<meta name="AUTHOR" content="Tinuola Awopetu">


	<meta name="description" content="Holger Stenzhorn, a NetBeans community moderator gives an account of his spam-fighting days for the NetBeans mailing lists.">


	<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../../netbeans.css">

	</head><body>

	<h1>NetBeans Community Interview<br>
	</h1>

	<span style="font-style: italic;">December 2010</span><br>


	<h4>Holger Stenzhorn: Spam-Stopper for NetBeans Mailing Lists</h4>
	<br>
	Unsolicited emails, otherwise known as spam, are the bane of inboxes,
	mailing lists, forums, and websites everywhere. Keeping the NetBeans
	mailing lists spam-free or at a minimum "spam-lite" are <a href="https://netbeans.org/community/contributors.html#mailing_mist_moderators">NetBeans mailing list moderators</a>--community
	volunteers who sign up to shield other users from dubious offers for
	luxury watches, discounted pharmaceuticals, bank transfer requests, and
	so on. In this profile, NetBeans user and mailing list moderator <a href="http://purl.org/holger">Holger
	Stenzhorn</a>, who stepped down recently from his spam-fighting duties,
	gives a brief account of his time in the trenches.<br>
	<br>


	<h5><img style="width: 144px; height: 144px;" alt="Holger Stenzhorn, NetBeans Mailing List Moderator" src="../../../images_www/articles/interviews/holger-stenzhorn.jpg" hspace="7" vspace="7" align="left">Please tell us about your experience as a NetBeans user.
	</h5>
	I've been using the NetBeans IDE since the year 2000 in both commercial
	and research settings for developing prototypes and real applications
	in the areas of natural language processing, information
	retrieval/extraction/management, and recently in Semantic Web.
	<br>

	<br>

	<h5>How did you take up the crusade against unsolicited
	messages on the NetBeans mailing lists?<br>
	</h5>I had participated previously in several <a href="http://wiki.netbeans.org/NetCAT">NetCAT</a> programs when Jiri
	Kovalsky, the program manager, asked if I would like to "take on" spam
	as a community task. I agreed because it
	was a chance to help the NetBeans community and to show my
	appreciation for a great tool.<br>

	<br>

	<h5>What was your strategy to keep the NetBeans mailing lists clean?<br>
	</h5>It was quite simple: I trained the spam filter in my Thunderbird
	email client to
	the extent that filtering happened (almost) automatically. Luckily,
	this approach worked very well because without automated help checking
	every item of mail would have been
	impossible.<br>

	<br>

	<h5>You must have
	seen all manner of messages while in the moderator role. What patterns or types stood out for you?</h5>
	My impression was that a lot, if not most, of the spam messages
	originated from Russia and China, and they had similar content
	patterns, for example, offers for "interesting" products. What I found
	quite annoying though were requests from actual individuals to the
	mailing lists to become social-networking "friends".<br>

	<br>

	<h5>After 2.5 years, would you consider yourself a "spam expert"?  What tips do you have for curtailing spam attacks?</h5>

	No, I am not a "spam" expert since I never really dived into the
	origins of spam messages. I have simply "suffered" a bit more
	than the usual user when it comes to exposure! My tip is to take your time and train the
	spam filter of your email application well and you should see a reduction in spam.<br>
	<br>
	<h5>A spam-free world: Possibility or pipe-dream?<br>
	</h5>


	If no sensible technological measures are introduced, then I doubt that we will ever be free from spam.
	We definitely need increasingly stronger automated measures integrated into email clients to help reduce spam.<br>


	<br>

	<h5>Any last words as you step down from your list moderating duties?</h5>

	Good luck to future spam assassins!<br>

	<br>
	<br>Find out ways to <a href="https://netbeans.org/community/index.html">contribute to the NetBeans Community</a>, and learn about other <a href="https://netbeans.org/community/contributors.html">community contributors</a>.<br>
	</body></html>