E-mail Spam and other unsolicited advertising

Willie W. Webfoot discusses spam and other types of unsolicited advertising

Spam—What is it?

"Flying might not be all plain sailing, but the fun of it is worth the price."

—Amelia Earhart

Spam is the term used for unsolicited advertising on the Internet. The term comes from a famous Monty Python skit where spam is the main item on the menu.

The big reason for the outcry against unsolicited advertising through e-mail and usenet groups is that the cost falls on the receiver, not the sender. This cost is two-fold. First, people pay for their connection time and most folks don't want to spend it downloading a bunch of advertisements they didn't ask to receive.

The second type of offender tends to cross-post to as many usenet groups and mailing lists as they can find, which tends to make certain newsgroups so cluttered with junk that they are impossible to read. Mind you, you are also paying for your connection time in order to access newsgroups full of junk. In other words, when you receive unsolicited mail in your mailbox, the sender is wasting their money and your time. When you receive unsolicited e-mail in your e-mail inbox, the sender is wasting both your time and your money.

There is spam and there is spam
There are professional spammers, people who make a living selling your e-mail address and mine. They learn how to "hide" their identity so that it is almost impossible to trace them. These types of spammers are cyber-outlaws and are definitely spamming despite or in fact because they understand that it costs them very little to send you the spam.

However, not every spammer is so evil in intent. In fact, some spam comes from the desire to spread good news or warn others of potential disaster. Many urban myths, legends and chain letters are circulated around the Internet innocently. Among the most famous are the requests to send cards to a boy with a brain tumor, the "good times virus, and the Neiman-Marcus cookie recipe. So, when you get a message from a friend or through a mailing list that has potential to be a myth, check it out before you send it to all your friends, relatives, and every mailing list on which you are a subscriber. Here are a few good places to enquire into the potential urban legend status of a message you receive:

Learn More about Fighting Spam

SpamCop: SpamCop's original spam reporting service will help you report spam quickly and accurately. In addition this site contains resources to assist you if you are accused of spamming, as well as other resources related to email spam.

Junkbusters: "Our web site is one of the world's most comprehensive collections of information about junk messages and how to stop them. We want everyone to know how to enforce their 'right to be let alone.' We also alert you about to threats to your privacy from direct marketers."

Separate Fact from Fiction

Don't Spread That Hoax!: A well thought out presentation of why you might want to dig deeper before sending that "urgent" sounding message and spreading a junk-mail virus.

Welcome to the Urban Legends Archive: The Urban Legends Archive indexes e-mail discussions from the usenet group that reports information on all kinds of myths and rumors. It also provides a pointer to their FAQ.

Urban Legends Reference Pages: Another useful reference for evaluating the validity of e-mail stories, requests, and hoaxes.

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