LET'S COMMUNICATE
Agriculture Communication Newsletter
October 2006, 130

Contents

Spam, Spam, Go Away
Write the Right Word
New Publications in the Distribution Center  Attachments Besides MS Word  Don't Wait Until the Last Minute

Spam, Spam, Go Away

ndsuext.nodak.edu and ndsu.edu both use a spam filter named SpamAssassin, which uses a diverse range of tests to identify unsolicited bulk e-mail. These tests are applied to e-mail headers and content to classify e-mail using advanced statistical methods.

There is no known method of programming a computer to determine if a message is spam to 100 percent accuracy while not misclassifying legitimate messages. Statistical methods and heuristics are the most common techniques used, but they seem to get us to only about 80-90 percent. This is mostly, as you might expect, because the spammers don't want their messages to be identified as spam. As soon as researchers develop new ways to detect spam, the spammers find ways to evade them.

SpamAssassin examines each incoming message and calculates a "spaminess" score. That score is used to classify the message and determine its disposition. On ndsuext.nodak.edu, if the score is higher than 10, the message is considered to be spam and is deleted before it goes to your computer. If the score is lower than 5, the message is considered legitimate and is delivered to the recipient. If the score is between 5 and 10, the message is likely spam so it is marked as spam but still delivered to the recipient.

The tests examine many aspects of the message. Some check for certain words or phrases in the message while others make inquiries to online databases of known spammers and the contents of known spam messages.

On ndsuext over the last week, SpamAssassin classified about 70 percent of incoming e-mail (276,040 messages) as spam. The other 30 percent consists of legitimate e-mail plus the spam that evades detection by the filter. Unfortunately the only way to fully rate SpamAssassin on its ability to detect spam would be to have someone manually examine each message in that 30 percent (about 17,000 per day) and count the number of spam messages that were misclassified as legitimate e-mail.

For more information about spam, see

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_%28e-mail%29

Write the Right Word

Use the right pronoun, such as his, her, its and theirs, when referring to people, businesses and organizations.

A child, for example, is one person, so you need to use a singular pronoun - his or her. The child didn´t remember where she left her glasses. The child´s behavior worried his parents. Never use "their" when referring to a single person.

If you aren´t sure of the person´s gender, use "his or her" or "his/her." Ask each participant to describe his or her experience. A child may be old enough to make his/her bed at age 5. Better yet, use plural nouns to avoid the somewhat awkward "his or her" construction. Ask the participants to describe their experiences. Children may be old enough to make their bed at age 5.

The only time you would use "their" is when referring to more than one person. The students must turn in their assignments on time.

Businesses and organizations always take a singular pronoun. A business, organization, foundation, etc., is an "it," not a "they." The Corner Market will close its doors Saturday. The XYZ Foundation will award its last round of grants for 2006 at its quarterly meeting Tuesday.

New Publications in the Distribution Center

Pulse Crop Marketing Guide -- EC1277 -- Ed Janzen, George Flaskerud, Jay Fisher and Eric Bartsch -- This 36-page publication, completed in cooperation with the N.D. Dry Pea and Lentil Association, reviews global production and trade for field/dry peas, lentils and chickpeas.

Walking: Select the Right Shoes -- FN603 -- Jane Edwards and Bryan Christensen -- Previously Web only, this publication explains how to evaluate the types of shoes needed to make your walk an enjoyable experience.

Beef Feeding Operation Siting and Design Basics -- NM1155 -- Ron Wiederholt and Teresa Dvorak -- Whether you are planning a new facility or modifying an existing one, this publication contains information that may help avoid costly mistakes.

Abortions in Sheep: Causes, Control and Prevention -- AS1317 -- Justin Luther -- This information sheet identifies the causes, control and prevention of sheep abortions.

Early Weaning Lambs -- AS1318 -- Justin Luther -- With drought and limited forage availability, now may be a good time to take advantage of the benefits of early weaning of lambs.

Leptospiros -- V1315 -- Charlie Stoltenow and Neil Dyer -- This publication addresses the source and prevention of the disease that affects both animals and people.

Just a reminder to get in the numbers needed for the crop variety trials, and weed control, insect and fungicide guides.

Sharon Lane, (701) 231-7883, sharon.lane@ndsu.edu

Attachments Besides MS Word

The Ag IT Advisory Group has recommended that only MS Word be supported for word processing in NDSU Agriculture and University Extension. However, some staff use WordPerfect or other word processing programs. Those staff are asked to only send attachments in the accepted standard of MS Word or as .txt or .rtf files.

If you receive a WordPerfect (.wpd) attachment, you probably can't open it just by double clicking or clicking on "open." Instead, you'll need to save the document, then open it in Word and save it as a .doc document.

Don´t Wait Until the Last Minute

When asking Ag Communication to work on a publication, brochure, newsletter or other educational materials, please allow time for your project to go through the editing, layout, proofing, approval, printing, and sometimes tabbing, labeling and mailing processes. General guidelines are:

*   Newsletters - two weeks Fliers and brochures - three weeks
*   One- or two-color publications 16 pages or fewer - six weeks
*   Four-color publications or those with more than 16 pages - eight weeks
*   Letterhead, business cards and enclosures - one week

Asking Ag Communication to complete a project at the last minute is not fair to those who planned ahead. We understand you have busy schedules and some projects require a quick turn-around, but the more time we have, the better your project will look.

Let's Communicate  

Though this and some other big for-sale publications aren't available on the Web, most publications are. Check out the new categorization of those publications at http://www.ag.ndsu.edu/pubs/ . If you have suggestions for improvement, please contact Dave Rice, Sharon Lane or me.

Becky Koch, (701) 231-7875, becky.koch@ndsu.edu

LET'S COMMUNICATE

If you have questions or comments, or would like to submit information or make a suggestion, contact:

Agriculture Communication
Attn: Becky Koch
7 Morrill Hall
Phone: 231-7875
FAX: 231-7044
e-mail: bkoch@ndsuext.nodak.edu

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