This applescript is an attempt to combat unsolicited email (Spam), by automating the process of reporting it to the relevant authorities.
NB: I strongly advise you NOT to use this script as part of an automatic spam filter. For one thing, your filter might get it wrong and you may end up falsely accusing people of spamming. For another thing, you may cause a horrible mail loop. In any case, you use it at your own peril, and I will not be held responsible for the consequences - you have been warned!
What the script tries to do is look at the "Received:" lines in the message header, and extract the domain names of all the machines that have passed on the message. It then composes a message to the "postmaster@" and "abuse@" addresses for these domains, which explains what has happened - the hope being that the person who picks up the mail for these addresses is in a position to do something about the Spam.
This script is a now at version 1.2, but it is still a bit of a quick hack! In an attempt to make the script useable by as many people as possible, I have avoided using any scripting additions, and I've also resisted the urge to do anything clever like doing a whois lookup on the domains. The downside of this is that the domain extracting code is simplistic, and could occasionally make a silly mistake and come up with a domain that doesn't exist. This should not result in the wrong people getting your report, but it might result in the report bouncing back to you.
To use this script, simply place into the "Applescripts" folder inside your "Claris Emailer Files" folder. The next time you start Claris Emailer, you should see a "Report Spam" option under the scripts menu. To report a spam that you've received, simply select or open the spam, then choose the "Report Spam" menu item.
There are quite a few configuration options, which are determined by properties defined at the top of the script file. You can edit these properties by double-clicking on the script (if you are unsure about editing applescript's, you should probably work on a copy). See the comments in the script itself for more info about what each property does.
If anyone has any suggestions about how to improve the domain extracting code, the wording of the report, or any other clever strategies, please email them to feedback@elegantchaos.com.
You can also check <http://www.elegantchaos.com/software/report.html> for updates.
This script is DonationWare! I don't want to charge money for it, but if you want to support its maintainance and future development, you could always register some of my other shareware!
