OT: Dropping sp4m volume?

[Fairlight]

Hi all...  Anyone not interested in fighting spam can delete now.  :)

Just curious...  A bunch of us have solutions in place, but I just noticed
something.  My ISP runs SpamAssassin and a witch's brew of other things,
along with your traditional RBL.  This has usually resulted in 6000-9000
messages being snared within every 14 days.

I put in my own authorisation system a while back, and I've been watching
the numbers that get caught -prior- to hitting my scheme (ie., just at the
ISP level) by 90%.  My last report that came today just said 809 messages
in 14 days at the entry-point level.  It was over 11,000 at one point in
the past, and was holding steady at 8000ish for a long, long time.

The last 6-8 months, it's been creeping steadily downward--first to 7000,
then 6000, 5000, 4000, 2000, and now 800?  

So has spamming actually slowed, or has my filter more or less made it seem
like my address(es) fell off the map, and I'm just less likely to receive
spam now?

Anyone else notice whether spam has stayed relatively consistent, risen, or
dropped off in intensity in the last 8-12 months?  I'm curious if it's a
general trend, or if my own blocking may have something to do with it.

Seems odd that spamming would just stop or drastically slow all of a
sudden, especially after the CAN-SPAM act was enacted.  So, what are the
other admins out there seeing in terms of consistency of volume?

mark->
-- 
Fairlight->   ||| "This ain't rock 'n roll--this     | Fairlight Consulting
  __/\__      ||| is...genocide!" --Bowie            |
 <__<>__>     |||                                    | http://www.fairlite.com
    \/        |||                                    | info at fairlite.com