SpamSieve keeps a log of which messages it has filtered, which messages you’ve trained it with, and any errors that have occurred. The Open Log command in the Filter menu opens the log file so that you can look at it.
Normally, there is no reason (aside from curiosity) to look at the log file. However, if you believe SpamSieve is not working as it should, the log file provides useful information about what SpamSieve has done.
“Predicted: Good/Spam” Log Entries
For each incoming message, there should be a log entry that says Predicted: Good or Predicted: Spam. Here are some questions that these entries can help you answer:
“Trained: Good/Spam (Manual)” Log Entries
These log entries represent messages that you had trained as good or spam using the menu commands in your mail program.
“Trained: Good/Spam (Auto)” Log Entries
These log entries represent messages that SpamSieve auto-trained. It’s normal for SpamSieve to auto-train a message as good if it thinks that the message isn’t spam. This will add the sender to the whitelist to ensure that future messages from that sender get through to your inbox. If you later train the message as spam, SpamSieve will disable (uncheck) the whitelist rule. Thus, auto-training should not ordinarily cause problems unless you receive a large flurry of messages from the same sender address, or if you forget to train the message as spam and then the address remains enabled on the whitelist. For more information, see the Auto-train with incoming mail section.
Searching the Log
If you have a question about a particular message, you can search the log to see whether there’s a Predicted entry for it. It’s best to search the log using Console’s Edit ‣ Find ‣ Find… command, rather than the Filter search field in the toolbar.
You may also find it easier to search by using the Edit Log command.
Accessing the Log Files
SpamSieve stores its log in the folder:
/Users/<username>/Library/Logs/SpamSieve/
(See the How can I open the Library folder? section.) If you find that the logs are taking up too much disk space, you can delete the .bz2 files at any time.
Help With the Log
The Sending in the SpamSieve Log File section describes how you can e-mail your log file to spamsieve@c-command.com if you need help interpreting it.