What Happens To Your Spam? To avoid the loss of important email communications, it is now flagging spam based on email headers and content. The following explains how we are currently handling the spam. It may not be possible to identify the source of the spam because any or all the information in the email headers can be falsified. If the ACC email system administrator can identify the source of a spam email, he may decide to flag the entire domain the spam came from. (The domain is the part of the email address following the '@' sign.) The system administrator may not be able to flag all messages from the domain because it may be one of several popular domains that provide free email accounts used by students and prospective students to communicate with ACC faculty and staff. The system administrator will not flag spam from an individual email address. Spammers seldom use the same email address more than once because they have learned to change addresses often to avoid spam filters. We will not flag all email from any country or region, even those where a high volume of spam is known to originate, because it could hinder communication with international students and educators. We have been directed to FLAG SPAM and not to BLOCK it. In an academic environment blocking email based on content or subject line could have the effect of censorship and inhibit discussion and learning. You can use email filters or rules in your email software to eliminate unwanted email messages based on content. How To Get Help If Legitimate Email Has Been Flagged as SPAM If one of your business email correspondents sends you email and it gets flagged as SPAM, it may be possible to relax the filters for that company. Contact the Help Desk at 223-HELP (223-4357) or helpdesk@austincc.edu. The Help Desk will work with the email system administrator to see if there's anything that can be done to keep it from being flagged as SPAM. The Help Desk will assist you with any other questions you have about handling spam or refer any questions they can't answer to other IT staff.