Unsolicited, unwanted email, usually called spam, can be annoying. And while it’s tempting to fire off a strongly worded reply demanding to be taken off the mailing list, such a tactic may actually lead to more unwanted mail. Such messages merely confirm to the spammer that your email address is valid. Instead, follow these recommendations for keeping the Lab on a low-spam diet:

• Protect your email address. Try not to give it out to anyone you don’t know.
  
  
• Don't respond directly to any spammers.
  
  
• Help block that spam. If you get spam mail, replace the subject line with spam:block:<spammer's address> (inserting the spammer’s address) and forward it to spam@lbl.gov. Putting the rogue address in the subject line speeds up blocking as it makes such requests much easier to spot in the mailbox.
  
  
• Forward the entire message to spam@lbl.gov. To block the address, the spam-stoppers need all the headers from the mail, including the "Return-Path:" and "From:" info from the mail. Then we can (usually) block mail from the "Return-Path" and "From:" address.

If you use Netscape email, you can get to the headers by following these steps:

• While reading the message, go to View Menu, then submenu Header
• Change to “All.”
• Click “Forward” and address the new message to spam@lbl.gov.
• Change Headers back to “Normal.”