Spam is such a hot issue and no one knows "right" view of spam that fits everyone. You either: - will take all measures to prevent people from sending it to you - don't mind it at all and happily delete, delete, delete every day - OR hate it sometimes and ignore it other times.

I think I fall in last category, which is what started me thinking about good and bad spam. My point of view has now developed into this:

BAD Spam- It is bad spam when you reply to it to be removed and it is returned to you because address is made up. It is bad spam when removal link does not open a real url. It is bad spam when you paste message source into Spam Cop and info you get back before clicking "Send spam report" shows tons of dead ends and made up domains, etc.

This means that this "Cowardly Lion" harvested your address, and went to great lengths to cover their tracks in order not to get caught sending spam.

I do not consider an email from an acquaintance telling me something they think might interest me- spam. I do not consider people telling me about their business and asking for advice-spam. I do not consider advertisements from companies I have asked about-spam. I do not consider an invitation from a publisher to join their opt-in list-spam. However, these invitations should not be sent out in mass mailings.

There are, however, many things that I do consider to be spam. Unfortunately, when I first started on Internet, I was guilty of spam once or twice. It does not necessarily make me a bad person, just an uninformed one. Now that I know what is considered to be spam and what is not, I would never in any way, shape or form become a Spam Artist!

These are some things to avoid doing:

* Sending your ad to any email you come across - SPAM! Do NOT send your ad to anyone unless they have asked for information, or if they have joined your opt-in list.

* Joining every discussion and announcement list you can find and sending your ad every few hours - SPAM! When you join these email lists, they will send you an email with their guidelines for posting. Please read and follow these guidelines carefully.

* Subscribing to an ezine and then replying to ezine with your ad - SPAM! This is one way to get yourself removed from a lot of good lists. If you receive an ezine, do not reply with one of your ads.