Re: My response to the e-mail address harvesters working this list

On Wed, Feb 26, 2003 at 01:39:28PM -0600, Vern Hamberg wrote:
> I cannot get into the propriety of this email action - was not involved, 
> for one thing. But I believe that SpamCop is overly aggressive in its 
> blacklists. Some pertinent remarks can be found at 
> <http://www.spamex.com/news/2002.12.16.spamcop.cfm>. Reports to them can 
> cause unintended damage to people that should not be involved. (Not saying 
> that that does not include us right now - I make no statement about our 
> role here, as I have no standing to do so.)

SpamCop is known to be sometimes less than effective in figuring out who
should be sent complaints. That said, there are several good blocklists out
there, and I use more than a few of them, as well as very aggressive
rejection of spam-supporting ISPs and spamming companies. I also reject any
email with any of a bunch of patterns in the header that are primarily
associated with spam.

Anti-spam efforts are not going to go away, no matter how much spammers and
spam apologists wish otherwise. It's not about content, it's about consent:
if I didn't ask for it, it's spam. I make a practice of never dealing with
companies who have sent me spam. I'm not alone, either.

> Many of us, like our company, are small ISVs for the 400/iSeries. I do not 
> speak officially for our company, but personally, when I say these things. 
> I ask, if you have a problem with anything with our name on it, please 
> contact me first - I do serve in a primary support role here, and will try 
> to address you concerns.

Unfortunately, you're whistling in the dark. Contacting the spammer is
*never* recommended, as most of them will simply mark your address as
belonging to a real person and sell it to other spammers for even more
money.

> The problem of unsolicited email is a serious one - so forgive my attempt 
> now to add a little levity:
> Being located near Austin, MN, does not make one a spammer.

Heh. Have you been to the SPAM Museum? It's a fun way to burn a couple of
hours. Hormel has an amazing sense of humor about itself.

Where are you? I'm in Fairmont, about 70 miles west of Austin.