[thelist] avoiding spam question

[Jeff Schneider]

Hello,
newbie here

I just set up a php/mysql "member directory" for a mailing list I run, where
users can submit their "profiles"..

One of the fields is e-mail address and that is displayed on each profile.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm under the impression that spammers the
majority of their e-mail addresses by using bots to crawl and pick up
anything in the source code with the @ sign in it.

Now obviously I don't want members who signed up to be spammed.

I was wondering what people think the best way to avoid spam is:

1.  password-protect the directory (which I'm doing now, but that leads to
problems like people forgetting the password, etc)

2.  convert all the code with the e-mail addresses to unicode, so the bots
won't pick them up

3.  avoid putting up e-mail address and just have people e-mail me if they
want to contact someone (so I have to manually forward the messages)

any other suggestions are welcomed.

Thanks!