Also, keep in mind that Scarecrow in us does not ALWAYS remember every email we sign up for. It is possible to have signed up for something and a week later be flipping out because you are getting email from some unknown. If we only had a brain sometimes (Speaking for myself, of course).

It is also highly possible that someone is having fun subscribing you to things. Never count that one out, it happens all of time.

GOOD vs BAD Personally, I would much rather get good spam. Bad spam demonstrates that sender KNOWS what is not acceptable and went to all of this trouble and expense to hide behind this long trail of fake addresses. That they took time to do that is malicious, in my way of thinking. Do they really think that what they are trying to sell in this manner is actually worth it? These are people we should be upset with. These are people that we need to be telling, "I'll get you my pretty, and your little server too!"

So, whether you agree or disagree, just try to keep in mind that 1. The whole world is not out to get you. 2. Not every piece of spam is sent with same intent. And... 3. As world around us continues to change, we will be seeing more and more companies resorting to sending their junk mail through email rather then post office. (I think this is becoming a more desirable thing to us all, as it would be much safer.)

Now is time to try to adjust our view and approach issue with a level head. If we don't we will drive ourselves mad, and for what purpose? The changes in our world cause internet to change. Soon you probably will find yourself saying, "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore".

* Adding people to your opt-in list without their permission - SPAM! Inviting people to join your list is one thing, but adding them without permission is a definite NO-NO.

* Visit every board you can, leave an ad and never come back - SPAM! Message boards have specific rules for posting and are usually for people to discuss and learn from each other, not for posting ads.

If you are unsure as to whether something is spam or not, visit some boards and ask other more experienced netpreneurs. It is better to be sure than to be accused of spam. Join some discussion lists also, to learn more about spam and what you should or should not do.

Message Boards:

http://www.free-publicity.com/cgi-bin alk.cgi http://www.bizweb2000.com/wwwboard/ http://start-smartz.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi#post

Discussion Groups:

mailto:pubsonly-subscribe@topica.com mailto:Newbies911-subscribe@topica.com mailto:epub-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Visit these sites for more information on what spam is, what to do about it and how to avoid it:

http://w3.one.net/~banks/spam.htm http://www.arachnoid.com/lutusp/antispam.html http://www.spamfree.org/ http://stopspam.sparklist.com/

Be cautious of way you conduct your business. Some people are tolerant of spam (if you are not a repeat or offensive spammer) and will just hit delete button, but some will report anything they think is spam.

Do some research on spam and how not to become a Spam Artist!