In message
<!~!UENERkVCMDkAAQACAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABgAAAAAAAAAh8IWNoVXQESwWrgvRgp6R8KAA
[log in to unmask]>, at
08:49:57 on Tue, 7 Jun 2005, Tim Trent
<[log in to unmask]> writes
>Charles Christacopoulos wrote:
>
>[snip]
>PS. Had there been on the spam a trustworthy address to unsubscribe from or
>a legitimate website to do the same, I would in this instance, and contrary
>to advise I/we give, had taken the option to unsubscribe and that would have
>been it.
>[/snip]
>
>The advice to ignore unsubscribe addresses lingers on and is virtually
>useless.
This is indeed a conundrum. Whether to go with the Privacy Directive and
believe in "unsubscribe" messages, or whether to ignore them. I think it
depends on how 'legitmate' the email appears.
> Most true spammers have no interest in what your email address is
>for two reasons;
>
>1) they clone and clone and clone and validate their lists by absence of
>bounces
I doubt this; I bounce loads of emails (to certain addresses) and still
the spam arrives, years later. [2,000 a day, currently].
>2) HTML emails, which people truly do like to receive (my own list has fewer
>than 1% who insist on text emails) carry webbugs
The can carry webbugs.
>(mini database related
>images that track precisely what happens to the emails)
>
>So, by the time you have received the spamming b'stard's email you are
>already on the list for ever.
Only if your email reader opens and acts on the HTML. This is to be
avoided if at all possible!
>For those truly interested in spam, google has a group NANAE (details from
>the links page on our website).
NANAE is a newsgroup (as you say later). Google is one way to interact
with it.
Interestingly, Google's new interface (and I'm one of many who hate the
change) obscures any email address it finds. As a result it is damaging
the content, and makes it impossible to contact writers other a followup
via Google. Sometimes an email might be more appropriate. Yes, I know
it's an anti-spam measure, but any email address on Usenet is toast
anyway (and there are ways to combat harvesting, for those who care -
more than just adding a NOSPAM here and there!)
--
Roland Perry
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