SpamCop Vigilantism

Written by Mike Banks Valentine


The following is a note I received from an advertiser after he got a SPAM warning from a Spam Vigilante. Note that his service is a SPAM Filtering Service!

Mike,

Do you know what this means, and how it happened?

Joe

----- Original Message ----- From: <82451690@reports.spamcop.net> To: Sent: Friday, May 24, 2002 7:18 PM Subject: [SpamCop (http://spamfilter.website101.com) id:82451690] [Astrology.ca] May 25 Horoscope > - SpamCop V1.3.3 -

> This message is brief for your comfort. Please follow links for details.

The following note come fromrepparttar VIGILANTE via SpamCop

> > I never signed up for this! Send CONFIRMATION emails BEFORE mindlessly signing people up to prevent unauthorized signups! >

My response to my list advertiser is next

Joe,

You have just becomerepparttar 132772 latest victim of spam vigilantism by a SpamCop member. It is a hate crime practiced by folks with little else to do but chase phantom criminals because they are so annoyed by REAL spammers. I guess you can't blame them since that is what obviatesrepparttar 132773 SpamFilter Service you provide. I have written previous articles onrepparttar 132774 absolute stupidity of this vicious circle. You provide a valuable service with SpamFilter which is intended to stop spam directly. SpamCop thrives, in part, because your very worthwhile SpamFilter service is so necessary. I only wish more people would use SpamFilter and fewer used SpamCop.

Here isrepparttar 132775 usual course of events, Joe.

I host a daily horoscope list that goes to 4500 people. Many times enthusiastic astrology list subscribers sign up friends and relatives without their permission, to share a particular horoscope with them. It'srepparttar 132776 biggest drawback to hosting that list.

But I keep all subscription requests and can prove them. I've had run-ins with SpamCop before and they know about my list and that there are occasional complaints due to those unrequested sign-ups to repparttar 132777 list by over enthusiastic friends and relatives. As you can see, I am advertising SpamFilter in that daily horoscope and when a complaint goes to spamcop, their mindless automated system sends to every domain listed inrepparttar 132778 email.

I've had trouble with it before and have a section inrepparttar 132779 SpamFilter folder discussing it. Noterepparttar 132780 links to SpamCops Abuses andrepparttar 132781 multiple articles from other victims ofrepparttar 132782 so-called service. Most of us are list hosts or have our own newsletters. Readrepparttar 132783 articles I have posted.

http://website101.com/SpamFilter/spamcop.net.html http://website101.com/SpamFilter/spamcops.html http://website101.com/SpamFilter/spammer_spamming.html

All that is required is to notify everyone involved ofrepparttar 132784 likely cause, that is friends signing up others without permission. I even directly ask people NOT to sign up others to avoid this trouble. But when it does happen, I always notify my web host,repparttar 132785 list host and any advertisers inrepparttar 132786 list and it's becoming routine, unfortunately, because of how SpamCop works -- or I should say, doesn't work. That isrepparttar 132787 reason I like your SpamFilter service so much. It removesrepparttar 132788 crap to allow me more time to deal with real issues.

SpamCop is a real issue and I tire ofrepparttar 132789 vigilantes involved with them. Unfortunately, it seems not to go away, no matter how many list owners are attacked this way. I'm sending a copy of this to my Web Host, my List Host, to SpamCop, to you and to other advertisers, so that everyone is aware ofrepparttar 132790 stupidity involved and doesn't takerepparttar 132791 matter too far. I'll be posting a copy of this inrepparttar 132792 SpamFilter article file as well to further illustraterepparttar 132793 vigilante nature of SpamCop members.

Makes me think of lynchings and other hate crimes when people do this. Talk about knee-jerk reactions. Notice thatrepparttar 132794 complainer is masked by SpamCop? They complain anonymously and it's not possible to respond to them, even when you would like to explain it to them. Neither can you unsubscriberepparttar 132795 complainer. Usually they just continue to complain and you must continue to defend yourself so your host doesn't take action against you, your list or your site.

In this case I can proverepparttar 132796 person is subscribed, and if they didrepparttar 132797 complaining directly to me, I could show themrepparttar 132798 subscription andrepparttar 132799 IP address ofrepparttar 132800 person that subscribed them. But they string uprepparttar 132801 noose and attempt to hangrepparttar 132802 object of their wrath, even if they ought to be stringing uprepparttar 132803 friend or relative that subscribed them torepparttar 132804 list without their permission. Note also that there is a plainly visible and always available UNSUBSCRIBE link atrepparttar 132805 bottom ofrepparttar 132806 list.

They don't unsubscribe, they would rather complain than to take direct action. It's all really very absurd.

Mike Banks Valentine

Joe wrote:

Mike, Do you know what this means, and how it happened. Joe

----- Original Message ----- From: <82451690@reports.spamcop.net> To: Sent: Friday, May 24, 2002 7:18 PM Subject: [SpamCop (http://spamfilter.website101.com) id:82451690] [Astrology.ca] May 25 Horoscope > - SpamCop V1.3.3 -

> This message is brief for your comfort. Please follow links for > >details.

Trapped Between Abusers and Accusers. It's a Spam Sandwich!

Written by Mike Banks Valentine


This week was dominated by SPAM issues for me. I alternate between stunned and complacent over SPAM I receive each day. One day my delete-key-trigger-finger works in rapid bursts to clearrepparttar inbox. The next day brings a new barrage and I fume asrepparttar 132769 HTML SPAM emails launch web browser windows automatically that can't be closed without opening more windows.

Each time Java is launched while I'm reviewing my mail, I almost explode in anger as there is literally nothing I can do to stop it until it loadsrepparttar 132770 email, pops up a browser window and I can finally begin to closerepparttar 132771 rapid fire group of popup windows attempting to show hardcore porn orrepparttar 132772 latest body enhancing pills.

A news headline caught my eyerepparttar 132773 same day about a Scottsdale, Arizona based company that was closed down byrepparttar 132774 state attorney general for fraud, using spam to gain customers. C.P. Direct, a company selling penis, breast and even HEIGHT enhancing pills was shuttered and assets seized. Apparently there are way too many men without common sense who purchased those "Longitude" pills and then convinced their significant-others to buyrepparttar 132775 pills offering fuller breasts. It saddens me especially those who fell forrepparttar 132776 pills to make you taller. But it seems to pay well to sell snake oil.

"Amongrepparttar 132777 items seized were luxury cars, including a Lamborghini, Rolls Royce, Ferrari and Bentley, $20 million in bank accounts, $3 million in cash and a bounty of luxury jewelry, according to a list ofrepparttar 132778 items. Company officials could not be reached for comment. The initial cost ofrepparttar 132779 pills was $59.99, plus shipping and handling for a month's supply and $39.99 a month thereafter. Records showedrepparttar 132780 pills cost $2.50 per bottle to manufacture. The company also allegedly sold pills that supposedly guaranteed height increases and bigger breasts, officials said."

http://reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=search&StoryID=1030199

As a list moderator for multiple lists and a host of several newsletters, I have plenty of email to deal with on a routine basis. The time lost to SPAM is just too valuable to give up any more. I see this as a privacy issue as well. Those email addresses harvested from my site by spammers (about a dozen different special purpose addresses) are then resold to so-called legitimate marketers that actually remove me from their lists when I ask, butrepparttar 132781 spammers sellrepparttar 132782 harvested addresses over and over again. I even get spam sent to my I-Privacy list address that were harvested by spambots.

Cont'd on page 2 ==>
 
ImproveHomeLife.com © 2005
Terms of Use