does moving mail to spam folder account "learn" spam

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gordon
Posts: 208
Joined: Tue Sep 02, 2008 6:43 pm

does moving mail to spam folder account "learn" spam

Post by gordon »

Hi,
I have created a new PP gmail account xxxx that points to Spam (xxxxSpam).
I am able to move mail from the xxxx account to the xxxxSpam account
If I move mail from xxxx account to the xxxxSpam account, does gmail "learn" the
characteristics of that mail to use when evaluating future spam?
And does it "unlearn" when moving the other way?

I have been getting new spam the past couple of weeks.
It is typically one or two lines:
>Gordon, I am Jessica, I am from Massachusetts,
>still remember me?
Sometimes the return address is @gmail.com

I wanted to see if I could create a gmail filter and send any suspicious mail to Spam.
Ironically you cannot create a gmail filter and send the suspicious mail to Spam :-(
You can create a filter and delete mail, but you cannot send it to Spam.
I prefer to keep spam to see if there is a pattern.

I should look into PP antijunk filtering.
Thanks
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mjs
Moderator
Posts: 2216
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2011 2:36 am

Re: does moving mail to spam folder account "learn" spam

Post by mjs »

Hi Gordon,

Jeff will be by the forum to provide you with much more details in regards to your questions on this subject.

In the meantime you might want to look at this page that may be of some help: https://www.esumsoft.com/products/pop-p ... /#antijunk (that includes a video on the topic).

I will just say that the primary method for POP Peeper to "learn" what represents junk messages (SPAM) is by using the Junk/Legit buttons (as mentioned in the video included in the linked page above).
Good judgment comes from experience and a lot of that comes from bad judgment. - Will Rogers
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Jeff
Admin / Developer
Posts: 9227
Joined: Sat Sep 08, 2001 9:46 pm

Re: does moving mail to spam folder account "learn" spam

Post by Jeff »

gordon wrote: Sat Sep 11, 2021 4:09 pm If I move mail from xxxx account to the xxxxSpam account, does gmail "learn" the
characteristics of that mail to use when evaluating future spam?
And does it "unlearn" when moving the other way?
I have no inside (or otherwise) knowledge of how gmail's antispam works. But I'd say "probably". (I retract that after considering my next response).
gordon wrote: Sat Sep 11, 2021 4:09 pm Ironically you cannot create a gmail filter and send the suspicious mail to Spam
I can pose a theory as to why gmail may not want rules to be allowed to move messages to the spam folder. Presumably, moving a message to spam can potentially affect everyone's gmail account, ie. if 1000 people get the same mass email and mark it as "junk", gmail probably uses this data to assume that the message really is junk and will automatically detect it as junk for other people. Now imagine that you run a legitimate business with a legitimate newsletter and a competitor signs up for your newsletter with 1000 email addresses and creates a rule that automatically moves that newsletter to the spam folder... :evil:

That being said, you can move the message to the spam folder yourself, and that includes an external IMAP client; so what would prevent that same competitor from simply creating a rule in an email client to move the messages to "spam"... :-s

gordon wrote: Sat Sep 11, 2021 4:09 pm You can create a filter and delete mail, but you cannot send it to Spam.
I prefer to keep spam to see if there is a pattern.
I'd suggest that you just move it to a unique folder and then delete it once you've analyzed it.
gordon wrote: Sat Sep 11, 2021 4:09 pm I should look into PP antijunk filtering.
Indeed :) And I hope that you do. I really like the idea that moving a message to the Spam folder would teach that the email is junk -- PP doesn't currently do this, but it should.

Similarly, POP Peeper could provide a way to move a message to a user-specified folder when it's marked as Junk (or even Legit).
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