Oh, So That's How It Works!

HOW-TO: A Simple Spam Solution

David A. Gray, MBA
Chief Wizard, WizardWrx

I've devised a method that works almost perfectly at segregating the mail that matters, yet is implemented using conventional Outlook rules (no programming!). The rule is simple; all mail not otherwise classified is segregated into a folder, _New from Contacts, if the sender is in my address book. I skim the subjects in the Inbox, but that rule, along with others that filter based on content, using such keywords as VB, DataEase, C#, Perl, and so forth, pretty much leaves nothing but junk in the Inbox. If a new message manages to fall through the cracks, the sender gets added to my address book, and future messages land in the _New from Contacts folder.

This rule is so simple that I am surprised that others have not jumped on it long ago, because it's been available in Outlook since at least Outlook 2000, and maybe Outlook 97. What's more, it can be implemented in any mail program that has something equivalent to the Outlook Rules Wizard. Before I migrated to Outlook in 1998, I used Eudora, and it had rules, even back then. I'm almost certain that Thunderbird and Netscape Mail have some form of rules engine. Even Outlook Express has a rules engine, called the Inbox Assistant.