Hi, Marcus,

I'm singularly blessed by ignorance about this thread bcuz after the first 
few yawns out m' mouth I kept deleting anything that Subject-line-ly said 
"foetry . . . ."

Now, lucky for you, somehow this message of yours escaped my delete.  I 
figure that means something astronomically and prophetically charismatic for 
anyone who hasn't already gone out for a beer.  It is after all in the 90's 
here---and prolly there, as well---and it's FRIDAY!

Let me say what I think you're saying in your email message as saved below, 
and you can correct me, if you think it necessary (I'll try to remember not 
to delete "foetry" subject refs automatically for the next few hours):

1)  A few people "win" scams who are utterly innocent of the scam-ness of 
the scam at the time and p'raps for awhile or forever after the scam's over.

2)  The ScamRunners want those few innocents to "win" so that those 
innocents can innocently say that they won innocently, and if they are 
believed to be innocent by the Great Unwashed Hordes, the ScamRunners will 
have "won" at their scam, the innocent will have won (and "won") even tho 
having been taken advantage of by the ScamRunners and now trapped in the 
pitiful and awkward position of  a) being thought, p'raps, by some as 
ScamRun-colluders, and/or  b) thought innocent but pitied by others who feel 
that the innocents' reputations have been tainted by the scam and the 
scamRunners.

3)  Because most, if not all, of us would like to think that our work will 
be chosen on the basis of its merit alone, most, if not all, of us are 
fodder for the ScamscumRunners.

I find that the logic you've presented is sharp and fit, that it challenges 
each of us if we give a damn at all about contests, whether positively or 
negatively, and that we who do care about the nature and consequences of 
contests (scammed or unscammed) may be wise to jump off your back about what 
you said in this message (I cannot speak for any of your other messages 
because I didn't read them and have resigned them to Virtual Obscurity even 
beyond the Delete folder itself), and see what s/he can do about correcting 
the situations giving rise to Scams.

Let me know if I have fairly  represented your words and intended meanings. 
I hafta run errands now, but I'll check emails later tonite. Oh, and be a 
helluva lot preciser than I have been in this email message to you.  My 
nerve medication can only last so long.

Judy


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Marcus Bales"

> In every scam there are a few people who "win" and who, therefore, can
> be relied on to boost the scam in complete innocence. It's part of the
> process. A scammer always wants a few such people banging around
> who swear it's the greatest thing -- what could be more legitimizing for a
> scam poetry contest than someone who proclaims they were plucked
> from obscurity on merit alone? Who among us does not want to believe
> that it happens?
>
> Marcus
>
>
> On 5 Aug 2005 at 7:24, Rachel Loden wrote:
>
>> Thanks, Ken. My story should be somewhat encouraging because it shows
>> that you can beat the odds. What's sad is that the contests exist at
>> all, and are the only way into print for many. That was my situation.
>>
>> Rachel
>>