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I use my own simple email scripts with simple rules and it also works! Over the time, my system has become even simpler. I used to have Procmail as mda, now simply a 5 line Perl script. I used to have spamassissin as pre-filter, now I skipped it altogether. I used to have a database for whitelists, blacklists, and filter lists. Now I simply have hand-coded rules (several) and hand edited whitelist/inbox lists. There are three areas for my emails: inbox (as well as a dozen categorized ones, important boxes also sends notification to my phone), unsorted (handful every day), and spam box (hundreds every day). I do check my unsorted box about daily; I only grep my spam box if I am expecting something and something didn't come.

Every time I got a spam leaked (into unsorted) and I am annoyed or I want certain mail go to certain inbox, I simply edit my scripts (which I know exactly where and how). It is easier than -- e.g. -- reading procmail's man page.

Specific, simple, personalized approach is surprisingly effective than any generalized approach. The latter is a hard problem, but the former often isn't. The former I can choose my own compromises.




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