The problem at the core of the AOL thing is one that comes up again and
again here: It is asymptotically hard to distinguish between a legitimate
mailing list and a spammer. In Nature Channel terms, we are the ungainly
host species which they cleverly mimic in order to snatch prey. The
characteristics that really do tell us apart or SHOULD tell us apart - (1)
that recipients voluntarily joined and are expecting our list mailings, and
(2) the senders are traceably real and uncloaked - are nearly impossible
for an MTA to confirm automatically. And if there were a magic cookie you
could include to ensure safe passage at, say, AOL, it would instantly be
exploited by spammers.
Nevertheless, as managers of mailing lists holding many thousands of AOL
members, we should try to come up with something that works. It's gonna be
hard to do this in a way that can't be exploited though.
