We've added a smarter spam filter to the in-site messaging system. It's been trained over the past few months to recognize the unsolicited commercial emails that invariably make it into any system. We're hopeful that it will make a big difference.

Here's how it works:

1). You now have a Spam folder in your Inbox. It will place all messages it believes to be spam into that folder -- but you can go in and check, too, if you're worried that a message from a friend might've been incorrectly filtered.

2). You can mark as "spam" messages that come into your Inbox that are, in fact, not messages you want. The more you do this, the smarter, and more restrictive, your filter becomes.

3). You can also go into the spam folder and mark a message as not spam.

Note: When you do either of the two steps above (No. 2 or No. 3), you are training your spam filter. If you mark  legitimate messages as spam, you run the risk of  training your  filter  to withhold messages you might want to see. Conversely, if you mark as not spam messages that are actually from someone offering get-rich-quick schemes or offering true love, you will continue to probably get them, unfiltered in your inbox. 

As always, this will all be permanantly stored in the FAQ, if you're looking for a quick reference.

A few more related news and notes:

1). You won't get email alerts for messages we think are spam.

2). A reminder: Some have complained about getting an alert every time you get a message or comment. You can easily adjust your settings so that you get as many -- or as few -- alerts as you'd like.

3). We've quintupled the number of messages on a single page, so that you won't have to spend as much time scrolling through your inbox for new messages.

4). The "search messages" feature should work just fine now.

Have at it. And let us know -- either in the Comments below or at open.problems@salon.com -- if you encounter any trouble.