SPAM

[scott]

There were five in the bed and the little one said ... "Bill, was that you clearing out the plumbing again?!"

[Wedgebill]

Wait 'til we get to the next stage "The Magnificent Several" that should be a blast !!!

Uncle Plumberator

[scott]

As long as you've got your "in continent" knickers on, we'll be safe!

[blue4u]

We have the SPAM museum right here in Minnesota if anyone is interested? I could host tours and we can all go together Check it out: http://www.spam.com/museum/

We must learn and KNOW the enemy BEFORE we can defeat him!! Onward fellow combatants of SPAM. Do not waver!!

Rich

[pooterpatty]

I'm already in but still not sure why spam is called spam

SPAM = Stupid People's Advertising Messages.

[scott]

We have the SPAM museum right here in Minnesota if anyone is interested? I could host tours and we can all go together Check it out: http://www.spam.com/museum/

I can see Bill changing his one way ticket from Florida to Minnesota!

[strat]

The only spam i like is thin cut and fried with grits and eggs..ummm spam...

[camaro24gold]

I'm already in but still not sure why spam is called spam

SPAM = Stupid People's Advertising Messages.

I really wouldn't nor do rank them has people.
"parasite >noun 1 an organism which lives in or on another organism and benefits at the other's expense." is a better explanation

[pooterpatty]

Very true camaro...

I've been threatening for years to write a primer on spam, how to avoid it, even how to avenge it (it's possible). I've been designing websites professionally for about 10 years, and during that time......well, let's just say I've spent some time on the "dark side" of the Internet, and have gotten to know several of the most prolific spammers (I even worked for one back in the day, before I came to my senses). In other words, I know how spammers think, and why they do what they do.

It's really nothing personal. Spammers are in it for one thing only - to make money. They use the Shotgun Approach - fire a big enough shot from far enough away and you're bound to hit something. Spammers will send out literally *millions* of emails in a single day, in hopes of getting just *one* moron to buy Viagra through his affiliate link. The porn spam you see here on Riffcaster - I guarantee it was NOT posted by an actual person. Getting mad about it will only give you high blood pressure.

Spammers use bots to scour the Internet looking for message boards and other public forums which don't require much in the way of verification in order to post. When they find one, BAM! You've got instant spam that won't go away.

Word gets around quickly too with spammers. Ever notice how once you get the first spam email that you click on to "opt out" of, your inbox is forever thereafter inundated? When you choose to "opt out" of something you never "opted in" for in the first place, you're just letting the spammers know that yours is a valid email address, which they can then sell to other spammers, and the cycle continues ad nauseum. They have software which generates random email addresses and sends out their spam in vast quantities in hopes that just 1/10,000th of the generated addresses are valid.

This begs the question - how do you beat spam? For message boards, image and email verification for registrations is the best way to go. Bots can't read images, and no self-respecting spammer would waste his time replying to an email for the right to post on any given message board. For the most part, he doesn't even know what sites his bots are trying to spam. He sets them loose on the Internet and lets them do their thing. He's happy when they find a site like SWW where the bots can post their crap and someone buys some Viagra through his link.

For you and me, the best way to combat spam is to shun it in a biblical sense. If you get an email that you don't recognize, don't open it. Delete it immediately. Don't feed the monster and it will die. Just opening an email can let a spammer know that your email address is valid (and ripe for the spamming), even if you don't click on anything. Don't feed the monster and it will die.

[camaro24gold]

pooterpatty

I never had a problem with spam in any of my main email accounts for over 7 years now. I do have some other "non-used - dummy accounts" set up that (as you say...the darkside) get spam.
I realize there is a bot doing most of this, however there is a "person" behind it. I do wish they would change their ways for their sake more than mine; however if they don't I also realize what "treasures" they might be storing up for themselves. It's their loss, not mine.

[camaro24gold]

Michelle
All these measures seem to have really helped a lot.

[Wedgebill]

Michelle
All these measures seem to have really helped a lot.

They sure have but I think I'm getting withdrawal symptoms now !!!!!


Cold Turkey and Dead Pigeons and Spam without Spam and some of Strat's grits and eggs and some of Mickey's beer. Mmmmmy favorite (USA) favourite (UK)





Uncle Bill, cold turkey junky

[scott]

I think Mickey's gettin' them all. The guy never sleeps!! He's at least five hours behind us but he's on-line during the morning over here. Just as well we're not gettin' paid for this malarkey or he'd be doin' us out of any bonuses!!

[michelle]

Dan turned on some more spam filtering methods - glad to hear that seemed to help. Woohooo!

~M

[scott]

Dan turned on some more spam filtering methods - glad to hear that seemed to help.

We might never know which eradicates more spam - the Spamateers or Dan's filters. Who cares ... as long as it works!

BTW, did Dan talk dirty to the filters to get them 'turned on'?