[Spambayes] Please help a dumb beginner

[Tony Meyer]

> I fully expect the problem is me, but not entirely.
> If I cannot follow exactly how to configure this
> program, and on exactly how to configure OE6, one
> with considerable experience with computers, so that
> I can ay least get started, then  there must be many
> others who will simply give up before they start. 

We know that this is an issue (except for, IMO, the Outlook plug-in).  To be
fair, we haven't even released an initial 1.0 version yet (although we
almost have, and it won't differ in this respect).  There's lots of places
in the documentation and on the website where we ask for help in improving
this sort of thing - that's the main way that it will improve, by people
volunteering to help.

It's also an area where 1.1 will definitely be better.  There's already the
start of a tool to automatically do the configuration for you, which will
solve most of the difficulties.  And it's certainly much easier to configure
and start using sb_server now than it was a year ago.

> For example, what exactly in OE6 must be changed so
> as to read localhost:8880/ ?

http://localhost:8880 is where you will find (with a web browser, like
Internet Explorer) the web interface.  You probably have the tray
application running, though, so you can just right-click (or double-click)
the little envelope icon in the tray (next to the clock) to get to this.

In Outlook Express, you need to change your mail server to collect from
"localhost" rather than wherever it is getting mail from now (but *not* from
port 8880).  To do this:

In Outlook Express, choose "Accounts" from the "Tools" menu.  Click on your
mail account (going to the "Mail" tab might help you figure out which one it
is) and click "Properties".  Click the "Servers" tab.  This will have an
entry for "incoming mail", which will be your mail server.  Change this to
read "localhost".  Click "OK" and then "Close".

I'm not sure whether you have set up SpamBayes or not yet.  If you haven't,
you should right-click on the tray application, choose "Configure...", and
in the web page that opens up enter in your mail server(s) in the first
(top) box (for this wave internet account, that would be "pop3.wave.co.nz").
In the second box, put "110".  Since you're using Outlook Express, you'll
also need to tick the "spam" and "unsure" boxes further down the page in the
"Add classification to subject header" option.  And then click save at the
bottom of the page.

> And Im not sure just where to go so as to choose between 'Ham" and "Spam".

I don't understand what you mean by this.  SpamBayes looks at incoming
messages and tells you what it thinks is ham, and what it thinks is spam
(and what it is unsure about).  Do you mean how you go about training?  If
so, then (once it's all configured) you just double-click the tray
application (or right-click and choose "Review") and use the review page.

=Tony Meyer

---
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