One solution for this problem is to use Dreamhost’s installation of SA. However, there’s no support for Bayesian rules. Those rules require a per-user database. Save whitelists, blacklists, and rule sensitivity, there’s no customization allowed. Another annoyance is logging into webmail to do anything meaningful with false positives; it’s explained further on the DH wiki.

Another option, and the best in my opinion, is using an IMAP client of my choice. This requires some modifications to my previous tutorial which takes you through the entire process of installing SA. Assuming that first tutorial is complete, you can now begin this tutorial. Yes, you will undo some of the work in the original tutorial. That’s the way it goes.

Because mail is being forwarded, moved, and synchronized all over the place, I thought a basic flowchart could simplify the end objective of this tutorial. As you can see, everything is setup to move e-mail to and from the mail server and hosting server.

A few assumptions before we get started…

• You have a basic understanding of Linux.
• You have an active DH account.
• You have access to the DH Panel.
• The %> notation indicates what you should type at the command prompt.
• The <Valid URL for: FileXYZ> notation indicates you need to insert a URL that points to the file in question.

1. Create a new fully hosted e-mail account. All of your e-mail aliases should be re-routed to this account’s address; this is now the gateway account through which everything must pass. You’ll have to create a similar account for each user with a SpamAssassin installation. The address doesn’t have to be user friendly, but choose something you can remember. In this example, I’ve created a new fully hosted address called spam_checker@unsaturated.com.
   
   If you have an alias called my.cool.address@unsaturated.com which forwards to your main user account, it will have to forward to spam_checker@unsaturated.com. Do not update all your aliases now because we want the transition to be seamless. Let’s keep e-mail flowing until all steps are complete.
   
2. Create a new forward-only e-mail address. After your mail is checked by SpamAssassin it will be forwarded to this new address, which then passes the e-mail along to your main user account, usually your_user_name@yourdomain.com. This step allows your e-mail to find its way back to the mail servers from the hosting servers. In this example, I’ve created a new forward-only address called spam_checker_passed@unsaturated.com.
   
3. Move the spam.rc file to your home folder. The spam.rc file was originally in a folder called procmail but it was the only file in there. This is a matter of preference but it’s important to keep this in mind for the rest of the tutorial. If nothing else is stored in your procmail folder, then delete it. Type the following at the command prompt:

   %> cd ~
   %> mv ~/procmail/spam.rc ~
   %> rm -Rf procmail/
   

4. Update the .procmailrc file in your home directory. You’ll notice several changes to this file, most notably all e-mail is forwarded to the address made in step 2 or then deleted. Remember, the spam has already been filtered to the .Spam folder according to the spam.rc file. Don’t forget to update the forwarding address! Type the following at the command prompt and insert the text shown:

   %> pico .procmailrc
   
   #=======================================
   # ~/.procmailrc
   #
   # Uses Maildir format mail directory.
   
   # Uncomment the following three lines to debug
   #LOGFILE=$HOME/procmail.log
   #VERBOSE=yes
   #LOGABSTRACT=all
   
   ## Directory for storing procmail-related files 
   PMDIR=$HOME 
   
   # Message directory (Courier IMAP and mutt)
   MAILDIR=$HOME/MaildirSync 
   
   # Spam filtering rules should run last
   INCLUDERC=$HOME/spam.rc 
   
   # Forward non-spam mail to validated address
   # REMEMBER TO UPDATE THIS ADDRESS!!!
   :0c
   ! spam_checker_passed@unsaturated.com
   
   # Everything should be filtered to the local .Spam folder 
   # or forwarded to the new mail server, so go ahead and 
   # delete whatever remains 
   :0
   /dev/null
   #=======================================
   

5. Rename the Maildir directory. Again, you might be wondering why this is necessary. In my opinion, the typical name for Maildir is okay if you’re actually using it for reading mail. However, this directory is now used exclusively for synchronizing mail accounts. Type the following at the command prompt:

   %> mv Maildir MaildirSync
   %> chmod -R 700 MaildirSync
   

6. Download and extract offlineimap. The features and speed of offlineimap looked compelling, so I tried it and decided to keep it. You can configure the script for many different scenarios but we’re keeping the steps basic. This step deletes the default configuration files but don’t worry because I’ll provided one later. Type the following at the command prompt:

   %> cd ~
   %> wget <Valid URL for: offlineimap_6.0.3.tar.gz>
   %> tar xvfz offlineimap_6.0.3.tar.gz
   %> cd offlineimap
   %> rm offlineimap.conf
   %> rm offlineimap.conf.minimal
   

7. Create an .offlineimaprc configuration file. Offlineimap needs to know some basic information like where to find your remote and local mail, folders to ignore, and more. To complete this you’ll need to know your mail server’s name, which can be accessed in the panel. You might wonder why this program is necessary. Consider a false positive e-mail, which is incorrectly marked spam. You could move that message to the correct folder but that change needs to be reflected on the hosting server where SpamAssassin can learn from the change. Remember to update all the values marked YOUR_. Type the following at the command prompt and insert the text shown:

   %> cd ~
   %> pico .offlineimaprc
   
   #=======================================
   # ~/.offlineimaprc
   
   [general]
   accounts = MainAccount
   metadata = ~/.offlineimap
   ignore-readonly = no
   ui = Noninteractive.Quiet
   
   [Account MainAccount]
   localrepository = Local
   remoterepository = Remote
   
   [Repository Local]
   type = Maildir
   localfolders = ~/MaildirSync
   
   [Repository Remote]
   type = IMAP
   remotehost = YOUR_MAIL_SERVER_NAME.mail.dreamhost.com
   ssl = true
   remoteuser = main_account@YOUR_DOMAIN.com
   remotepass = YOUR_PASSWORD
   nametrans = lambda foldername: re.sub('^INBOX\.*', '.', foldername)
   folderfilter = lambda foldername: foldername in ['INBOX.Spam']
   maxconnections = 1
   holdconnectionopen = no
   #=======================================
   

8. Update the salearn.bat script. The old Bayes update script is obsolete because we have to ensure spam is synchronized between your hosting account and your mail account. This script synchronizes your .Spam folders, copies all messages (read and unread) to a single directory, tells SpamAssassin to update the Bayesian database, purges all the spam, then does a final synchronization. Type the following at the command prompt and insert the text shown:

   echo '========================================================'
   TESTED=false
   if [ "$1" ]
   then
     if [ $1 = "spam" ]
     then
       TESTED=true
       echo '--------------------------------------------------------'
       echo Synchronizing Spam folder...
   
       ~/offlineimap/offlineimap.py
       mv ~/MaildirSync/.Spam/new/* ~/MaildirSync/.Spam/cur/
   
       echo Messages synchronized and ready for processing.
       ~/sausr/bin/sa-learn -V
       echo Learning what is spam...
       ~/sausr/bin/sa-learn --spam ~/MaildirSync/.Spam/cur
       rm -f ~/MaildirSync/.Spam/cur/*
       echo Learning complete.  All spam messages were deleted.
       echo '--------------------------------------------------------'
       echo Resynchronizing your spam folder...
       ~/offlineimap/offlineimap.py
       echo All folders are synchronized. 
     elif [ $1 = "ham" ]
     then
       TESTED=true
       ~/sausr/bin/sa-learn -V
       echo '--------------------------------------------------------'
       echo Learning what is ham...
       ~/sausr/bin/sa-learn --ham ~/MaildirSync/cur  
     fi
     
     if [ $TESTED = true ]
     then
       echo '--------------------------------------------------------'
       echo Summary statistics of Bayes database...
       ~/sausr/bin/sa-learn --dump magic
       echo '--------------------------------------------------------'
     fi
   else
     echo Enter one argument:  [ham | spam]
   fi
   echo '========================================================'
   

9. Update your cron jobs. Because some e-mail are marked as spam incorrectly (false positives), we need to ensure all mail is synchronized. This gives you a chance to correct those false positives and move valid e-mail back into your inbox. The first cron task runs frequently to ensure your folders are up-to-date. Some spam systems would do this once daily but I prefer to know sooner if an important e-mail got trashed. The second task runs the Bayes update script. Type the following at the command prompt, acknowledge prompts for e-mail according to your preferences, and enter the text shown:

   %> crontab -e
   
   30 * * * * ~/offlineimap/offlineimap.py
   10 0 * * 7 ~/salearn.bat spam
   

10. Create an e-mail filter through the panel. Remember that e-mail account you created back in step 1 (spam_checker@unsaturated.com)? It’s time to give it a trivial filter using the panel.
    
    This will create a .procmailrc on the mail server, which you can’t see or edit via the shell. By trivial, I mean an obvious pass. Your rule would go something like this.
    

    Now once the trivial filter is establish you want to select the “Forward to shell account” option. Be sure to select the matching user account from the drop-down menu.
    

11. Update all e-mail aliases. Remember that e-mail account you created back in step 1 (spam_checker@unsaturated.com)? It’s time to update all your other aliases to point to that address. With each updated alias, the system goes “live” so you might try it on an infrequently used address, then send a test message.
    
12. Send a test message. If everything is working properly, you can run the salearn.bat script and you should be error-free. Send a test message and look for SA headers (X-Spam-Level, etc). Lastly, if you find an error in my tutorial please post a comment.

His observations define the disadvantages but none offer a higher understanding of elitism. We’re told the faux diversity of elite schools, the pursuit of grades over wisdom, the exclusivity, the labored meritocracy, inexorably leads to one outcome: more alumni. It’s not clear how a Romantic intellectual would be employed in the 21st century and that’s also precisely the point. Were Romantics not elitist as we define the word today? If an elite education makes William Deresiewicz who he is, then why do others excel while he has fallen to the “Ivy retardation”? Can this “retardation” spread or is it inherited?

His essay isn’t specifically about elitism. Instead he discusses the downfall of identity, both personal and social, in an institution designed to foster ideas and, ironically, an enlightened sense of identity. If elitism is bad then you can’t remove it until it’s understood. Let’s try to understand.

Elitism, as I define the word, is an amalgamation of glamour, wealth, exclusivity, power, and pedigree. These concepts form a wireframe but it’s neither education nor an epistemic desire to learn. Therefore, without the core of higher education, elitism is simply an empty wrapper—branding, marketing, or a way to sell an object—but not the object itself. Elitism and education are conflated but the so-called disadvantages are attributed unfairly to the combination. If worldly and informed students graduate without elitist qualities or the “retardation”, then they have extracted something of great value without being burdened by the disadvantages which I believe do not exist.

Students know that by admission, graduation, and association, the benefits of an elite education usually result in lucrative jobs. I attended public grade schools, high school, and then graduated from a public university. The concept of elite and public coinciding is a contradiction. Some political offices hold an elite status but generally the commons is not a site of glamour, exclusivity, wealth, power, or pedigree.

Calling an institution or person elitist is to suggest some form of entitlement. Entitlement is commonly associated with birthright, inheritance, or social status. Perhaps society is reluctant to admit it or accept it, but I believe the underlying cause of elitism is genetic. Mr. Deresiewicz makes conclusions based upon environmental factors but completely overlooks heritability. Genetics cannot explain all the variables in my theory on elitism (exclusivity, for example) but DNA can influence many of the personality traits which develop those variables. Help us identify these elitist characteristics, Mr. Deresiewicz, instead of slogging forward with one lamentation after another.

I attended graduate school with a small group of 30 students. This was the first fulltime MBA program for my university. Students were selected based upon their performance in undergraduate school and their academic diversity. You can already see how the admitted students think they’re “special” and, perhaps, entitled to more. I was the only engineer while most others had business degrees. It also turns out 30 was sufficient for something else: a microcosm of elite education.

During the last semester our appointed finance professor was a studying PhD student. Grading was easy but his title and qualifications angered the class. A mini-protest began which led to a petition to replace him. Everyone thought the MBA class deserved better. Maybe so, but I disagreed with the means to accomplish this and refused to sign (I was the only one). The drama was compounded by our legal professor, a woman well versed in tort law and who was eager to remind everyone that she has a carry permit. The idea of a petition seemed juvenile and few civil debates were held over the issue. This drama played out until his replacement arrived. The following events, unlike any other in my college experience, exposed elitist tendencies in quick order.

When the new finance professor was revealed the former business undergrads let out a collective groan. He fought grade inflation, was tough, thorough, and fair. Elitist kryptonite apparently comes from India. Each pop quiz was met with bitching; test results, if not an A, were met with protests. Such behavior is the mark of elitists and individuals who feel above the need to learn. Soon their discontent was directed to the MBA program itself. Certainly it wasn’t the students who were mistaken, it was the system. I can therefore conclude that elitism is not unique to haughty institutions with rich alumni. So it was in your school, Mr. Deresiewicz, and so it was in mine.

Elitism is not monopolized by upper crust society. I’ve seen elitist attitudes in public universities and their aftereffects in the private sector. The most intolerable belief is that the system is flawed, not the individual. Indeed, systems can and do fail. No system is perfect. Yet, when faced with an obstacle or failure an elitist will not look in the mirror. The reason or excuse is most assuredly external. Some institutions focus these behaviors and amplify their effects. In elite colleges the potential for groupthink seems likely, therefore, blame is not sought among peers. When forces outside the walled garden are such easy targets, why bother? Indeed, just sign a petition.

Maybe the larger question is: Should elitism be stopped? Is there any proof its existence is harming society? Perhaps elitism is a Western phenomenon that’s become more apparent as our overall wealth has increased. Capitalism is still a relatively new concept and our perception of elitism is evolving with it. There’s been a dot-com bubble and a housing bubble. An elitism bubble wouldn’t surprise me. It’s also possible we’re debating a non-issue. I’ve observed elitist traits within academia and without, from rich people and poor people, and fail to see the end of it. Unfortunately, people are notoriously bad at predicting bubbles.

Features

• Proxy Vote can manage multiple, simultaneous events.
• Proxy Vote 1.1 is verified to work with Wordpress versions 2.5/2.6. Version 1.0 is verified to work with Wordpress version 2.3. The administrative interface is unique to each version but features and capabilities are the same.
• Each proxy event description can contain HTML, images, URL links, and more.
• Event descriptions are formatted to print on individual pages.
• Results of the event are optimized for printing.
• Cleanly remove the plug-in once you’re done. You have the option to completely remove all traces of Proxy Vote, including its tables.
• Customize the form text then insert it with an entry like [proxy123].
• It works on posts and pages.
• Information and error messages can be localized to another language very easily.
• All submitted proxies record the IP address of the sender.
• Events can be exported to an XML file. Use Microsoft Excel or any XML-friendly application for viewing the raw data. Format it however you please. It’s your data.

Anti-Features

• Events cannot be re-imported to the database from the XML file. Arguably, what’s the point when the event has expired?
• The number of voters cannot be changed once an event is created. However, expiration, title, and description can be changed at any time.
• There is no event start time, only an expiration time. In other words, do not post your event until you are ready to use it. If this anti-feature is added, it would make the second anti-feature much easier to implement.
• Formatting and compatibility is unknown on earlier 6.x versions of Internet Explorer. If this applies to you, I highly recommend you upgrade IE.

Adding an event is very easy. Provide the title, description, expiration time, and the number of voters. Proxy Vote manages multiple, simultaneous events.

Managing Your Event

Once you’ve created your event, you can monitor its progress, print data, modify its properties, or export the data to XML. Submitted proxies are displayed as they are received. Back on the main management page, you’ll have a real-time look at how many proxies are submitted for each event.

Spreading the Word

Your proxy is only useful if people are given a brief, informative paper with instructions to submit the proxy. In my opinion, keeping the message brief and informative is the best means to getting proxies and achieving a quorum. In this example, I included multiple HTML elements to illustrate the flexibility of the proxy messages. This event had 250 voters, therefore, 250 unique keys and pages were generated - just print and distribute!

Go ‘Live’ with Your Event

Ready to post your proxy event form? It’s easy. You can add any text before or after the form itself. Give your voters a simple reminder of what’s required. Publish your post or page and you’re one step closer to a quorum.

It’s Your Data

Once your proxy event is complete, you might want to organize the data differently. Proxy Vote wasn’t designed to analyze, process, or format data in fancy ways. Export your event to an XML file and open the results in Microsoft Excel or some other program. You can format, sort, and arrange the data however you prefer.

1. Open the downloaded zip file
2. If you’re using Wordpress 2.3, extract the contents of the Version1.0 folder to your Wordpress plugins folder; if you’re using Wordpress 2.5 or 2.6, extract the contents of the Version1.1 folder
3. Activate the Proxy Vote plugin
4. Go to the Settings page (Options in WP 2.3); select the Create Tables button.
5. Activation is complete, so create a proxy event.

The Events Management View

The Events Management View shows a list of all proxy events and the form for creating a new event. Events with the nearest expiration time are shown on the top. The number of proxies generated and submitted are displayed.

Each event has two selections: Edit and Delete. Selecting Delete will open a dialog box which allows you to proceed or cancel the action. Selecting Edit brings you to the next screen which displays proxy details.

The Proxy Details View

This view shows actions relevant to the current event. All actions are display in the top section called “Activities”. Let’s briefly review each one.

• The first bullet shows the activation string necessary to insert the proxy form into a post or page. You can type or copy the text displayed. It will always follow the pattern [proxyID] where ID is the id number of the proxy event. If you insert this text with an invalid id number, the plugin will ignore the text.
• The second bullet provides a link to the Proxy Message View.
• The third bullet links to the Proxy Results View.
• The fourth bullet links to the bottom of the page where you can update properties of the event, such as title, description, and expiration time.
• Finally, the last bullet links to the Proxy XML View.

The Proxy Message View

The proxy message is the keystone of the Proxy Vote plugin. You can use the proxy message for a variety of purposes, but its main intent is to provide a custom message to each voter with a unique proxy key. In the Proxy Message View, you can preview what these messages will look like. At the top of the screen you will see a message box which provides some tips on printing the proxy message. If you have 300 voters, you should have 300 proxy messages. For almost all web browsers, you will proceed to File -> Print Preview menu item. Verify your description has been formatted the way you intended.

The Proxy Results View

Proxy results include all the submitted proxies for the event. Much like the Proxy Message, the print preview feature of your web browser will format the page. In most circumstances, the landscape page format is superior for tabular data. This view is display only.

In the table you will find these columns:

• Key is the 10-character random code distributed to this voter.
• Voter is the person submitting the proxy.
• Proxy is the person who will vote on behalf of the voter.
• IP is the internet protocol address of the computer which submitted the proxy.
• Submit Time is when the proxy information was submitted to your site.

The Proxy XML View

This view displays all event data in XML format. The proxy event can be exported to a file using the Export to XML File button. The auto-generated name will be exportID.xml where ID is the id number of the proxy event. Although the data is displayed in a text editable field, you cannot change the data here.

Create an Event

1. Go to the Manage tab, then select Proxy Votes.
2. Enter your event information under the section “Add Proxy Event”
• Title can be anything meaningful to identify this event. You can update the Title at any time.
• Description can contain actual HTML code; line breaks, headings, images, tables, or anything you need to summarize the event. However, it should always contain the [key] and [expires] tag. The Description section forms the text of your proxy message, which is a custom set of instructions to your voter. It should also provide the URL of the proxy form. It’s a good idea to create a draft of the post so you can finalize your proxy message. You can update the Description at any time.
• Expiration is the local end time for the proxy event. The plugin will not accept proxies submitted after the expiration. The expiration time uses the properties setup in your blog, such as the UTC offset. You can update the Expiration at any time.
• Number of Voters is the maximum number of people who can submit a voter proxy. This value cannot be changed once the event is created.
3. Select Add Event and you will see a message which confirms the event was created and the random keys generated.

Sample Proxy Message

The following snippet of HTML code is a good starting point for your proxy message. It doesn’t contain any image links. However, it makes use of embedded styles, unordered lists, and those two important tags: [key] and [expires].

<h1>The Proxy Event</h1> <p>This is the proxy event you've waited for all year. To achieve a quorum at our annual meeting, we only ask for a few moments of your time. This year we've made the process of submitting a proxy easier than ever. Please follow these directions carefully.</p> <ol> <li>Go to our website: www.unsaturated.com/proxyvote</li> <li>Look for entry titled "Proxy Event of the Year"</li> <li>In the first space you will notice the expiration date, which is currently [expires]. You must submit your proxy before that time.</li> <li>In the next space enter your unique code: <b>[key]</b></li> <li>Enter your name (last name, first name)</li> <li>Enter your proxy's name (last name, first name)</li> </ol> <p>Again, we thank you for your support. This will help our meeting proceed smoothly and ensure business continues without any further delays.</p> <p>Sincerely,<br/> Matthew Crumley<br/> Board President</p>

The result is a system that provides immediate feedback, a decent measure of security, and simple integration with Wordpress blogs.  The first version I fielded worked great with our HOA website.  Everyone in the community was given a customized paper explaining the process.  That paper also provided a customized key, much like a business provides to its shareholders.  The process is very simple: the voter goes to the website, enters his key, his name, the proxy’s name, then submits the information.  That’s all there is to it!

The first version I tried had limited capabilities.  I think the concept was solid but the feature list needed improving.  After a few months of development I made the feature list grow, worked out the bugs, and polished the user interface.  The result is a compelling product worthy of commercial distribution.

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Thank you for writing to voice your concerns. That you replied to the “New Board” posting makes it evident that we, the five volunteer Board members and property manager are failing in some ways. I would estimate the five volunteers, Bill, Andrea, Roger, Gerald, and me, have given in excess of 120 hours of their time back to the community at no charge and the year is not over. The majority of us also work in excess of 40 hours per week at our normal, full-time jobs. We try to lead by example and save the community money, which brings me to your first point.

“Don’t even think about raising the dues this year”
Wildewood just received notice that our landscape maintenance costs would be increasing by 2.5% effective immediately. I expect many of our costs to increase as a result of the economy. Our Covenants stipulate that we can raise dues by no more than 5% per annum over the previous year. We’ll have to raise dues without question, if simply to maintain our level of maintenance and keep pace with monetary inflation. If you find a similar HOA in the Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater area, with the same number of homes, for such a low price (currently less than $200 a year), please let us know. I’m told our community is an exceptional case.

“It seems the board now is in the mood to be NICE…POLITICALLY CORRECT”
I agree that we are in the mood to be nice. Is the only alternative being cruel and politically incorrect, ruling this small community like a fiefdom? Wildewood isn’t a homeowner association you hear about on the news – fining for small brown patches on lawns, an extra satellite dish, or other petty reasons. It’s my belief (to paraphrase Thomas Jefferson) that the HOA that governs least, governs best. The lawyers who drafted our original documents seemed to agree. The documents do not stipulate how we can enforce covenant issues. This issue can be lumped into one about “pigpen” homes you mentioned. Members of the Board do not enjoy this sight any more than you. Other, more ruthless, legally-entitled HOAs are setup to explicitly empower their association to levy fees, or take other action against these issues. Ours was established without such empowerments. You suggest “[the Association] lawyer sends them a letter with the intent to foreclose” yet you do not want our dues raised. These are simply incompatible actions. It also exposes our Association to costly legal retaliation.

“…now we have homes that are again having unregistered vehicles…”
Please report these to Hillsborough County Code Enforcement. It’s free, anonymous, online, and it works. We even provide a link on our website (right side, towards the bottom). Help us be the eyes and ears of the community. Members of the Board do this independently and encourage residents to do the same.

“I will start a petition drive to kill this association…”
Why? Your frustration is apparent but this is counter productive. Without an Association, who would pay for the repair of vandalized walls? Who would maintain a lighted entrance or promote a website to enable a better connected neighborhood?

Mr. X, I spent almost one hour of my time considering this letter and what it means for Wildewood. In short, it means someone cares. And yet, seven months into a new Board of Directors, what has been accomplished? I consider the gains amazing (lots of paint, sod, new plants) and a sign of future improvements to come. I’ll be staying an hour late at work today or tomorrow to compensate. Change takes time and free labor is hard to find.

Sincerely,

Matthew Crumley
Wildewood President, 2008