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What
Exactly is SPAM? (and what isn't?) By Walter
Daniels
There seem to be two ways of thinking prevalent
about the use of the Internet. Neither of
which is correct, or useful. 1) The Internet
started as a non-commercial operation and
should not be contaminated with business.
2) There are no rules and I can do as I
please. Both of these attitudes are essentially
selfish and greedy. Neither contributes
to the community atmosphere that can make
the 'Net so useful to everyone. Fortunately,
the first attitude is disappearing as more
people get connected.
However, the second is dangerous to everyone,
as more use the 'Net. BTW, when I say 'Net,
I mean Usenet, WWW, and Email. I have been
actively participating since the early days
of some of the more useful email lists,
like I-Sales Digest from MMGCO, in addition
to being active on Usenet, and other email
fora. So I am _more_ than qualified to contest
the idea that you can do what you want.
You may not see it, but there is a *strong*
cultural attitude of being friendly and
helpful on the 'Net.
For me that means being willing to answer
questions on email lists, and in UseNet
NewsGroups where I have knowledge. There
are some who believe that this means they
can send me any email they want. Now, I
don't mind being helpful with genuine questions,
but I draw the line at *junk* email.
I am active in many areas, which means my
Web site and email addresses appear in a
lot of places. That does _not_ mean I want
to have my time wasted by MMF/GRQ, or attempts
to sell me: food plans, CCD cameras, software,
dental/optical plans, bulk email programs,
etc. I have a telephone number on all my
business cards/brochures/advertising, does
that mean I should accept telemarketing
calls unrelated to the business there? I
*do* want to hear from those with info requests,
possible sales orders, and related questions.
If _you_ (whoever you may be) do not understand
the difference, you will not last in business.
Spammers *do not care if you are offended
by unwanted contacts.* All they care about
is *numbers.* These idiots would burn down
a forest to roast a pig, with no concern
for the future. If I receive an unsolicited
request, that *has been deliberately targeted
to me,* I don't _automatically_ complain.
In more than two years, I have received
_less_ than _5_ of these. If I have no sense
that you did anything more than pull my
name off a list, *it is spam.* An example
is an email I got a few weeks back.
I sell, among other things, customized coffee
mugs, which means I must buy them somewhere.
I got an email offering to sell me mugs
in quantity, at low prices, *by an Asian
exporter.* I didn't complain to the ISP,
because they made an effort to find their
market. *I* use specially coated mugs, so
I have a limited supplier list, and couldn't
use them. They made a good faith effort
to find those who might _actually_ use/want
what they sell. Since there are companies
that sell bulk emailing with _no_ concern
for the consequences, I am compiling a list
of them to file denial of service attack
complaints, with their backbones. These
have been _politely_ asked to stop, and
refuse to do so. So, now they will pay for
that misbehavior.
If someone sent me, unsolicited, a serious
business proposition, I won't ignore or
complain about it. However, if I recognize
one of several companies that fake return
addresses, or have fake "remove" options,
that is another story. Too often, the "remove"
site is either a XXX site, or an address
collector. I do not like being electronically
accosted by someone too lazy to do more
than collect "business owner" names and
email addresses. As John Audette of I-Sales
can attest, sales is finding the person
who wants/needs what you sell/produce and
solving their problems. If I sell pure pork
hot dogs, the *last* people I would solicit
to buy them are Jews/Muslims. So if I do
try to convince a Jew or Muslim to eat one,
I should not be surprised if they react
badly to the contents. There is a great
temptation on the part of some to ignore
the Get Rich Quick schemes and the like.
This is exactly how they continue. Someone
says, "ignore them, they don't hurt anyone."
Yes they do. Telecommunications and postal
fraud are serious matters. They bring _long_
jail sentences to the poor fools who believe
they are harmless and continue them. The
originator _rarely_ gets caught, because
it takes so long to find them. In the meantime,
the originator has gotten rich from the
fools at lower levels. Criminals get caught
because someone said, "It is up to me to
stop the activity, _before_ it hurts me."
Robbery is still robbery, whether it uses
a gun, an email, or a postage stamp.
Walter Daniels FBN Graphics prints specialties
in small quantities at reasonable prices.
Express your interests with a Custom printed
T-shirt, mug, mousepad, or carry bag. We
cheerfully print in quantities as small
as one. For information contact: [email protected]
http://www.digiserve.com/fbngraphics/ Enter
the bi-monthly design survey, and win a
free mug. Reprinted with permission by Walter
Daniels. © Copyright 1998.
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