Re: flexfax: Fax abuse

[David Woolley <david@djwhome.demon.co.uk>]

> Whenever someone is trying to send a fax with hylafax to
> a phone number where no facsimile machine exists, the fax server
> tries to send the fax for MaxDials times with no success. This 
> can be very annoying for the people that answer these unnecessary
> phone calls. Is there any configuration parameters that could be 
> used in order to stop/limit this behaviour?

MaxDials!   I would have thought that that was the main purpose of
that parameter.  There is also a retry interval, which I believe, by
default) meets the UK requirements for indefinite retries.  There is no
blacklisting of failed calls (a UK requirement that is generally ignored
now that it is just a condition applied on the software using the modem,
rather than enforced by the modem).  I guess, though, that it might not
be too difficult to modify the retry strategy if the info file indicated
that the last series of attempts failed for that number.

Note that such logic can cause annoyance.  It was common practice when modems
enforced blacklisting, to dial the number with a bogus, variable excess last
digit, so the numbers looked different to the modem.  This was normally for
dialling known modem numbers.

(The last set of UK requirements I say allowed two dials in quick succession
then about three at about two minute intervals, before blocking the number for
several hours or until manual intervention, but I think they allowed indefinite
tries if none were at less than ten minute intervals, presumably because the
victim had a chance to phone the phone company to complain, and to make other
calls.)