Here's a fairly extensive overview of resources that will aid you in effectively combatting unsolicited email, showing you possibilities (and, alas, limits!) of your endeavor.

General resources ----------------- The Spamhaus Project features a database tracks known Spam Gangs, Spam Support Services and providers who keep organized spamming alive by knowingly hosting stealth spamming services on their networks. An extensive set of databases allows for tracking of established spam outfits, including statistics, etc. < http://www.spamhaus.org/ >

Look up this list of established spambots: < http://mosa.unity.ncsu.edu/brabec/antispam.html >

Resources for header reading are listed at Forum for Responsible and Ethical E-mail (some broken links, though): < http://www.spamfree.org/resources/header_reading.html >

Some spambot harrassment programs are listed here: < http://www.turnstep.com/Spambot/harassment.html >

Spam.abuse.net calls for spam boycots and offers lots of information an spam prevention legislation, and more. < http://spam.abuse.net/ > Read their useful guide titled "How To Complain To The Spammer's Provider" at: < http://spam.abuse.net/howtocomplain.html >

Mail forwarding services ------------------------ Protect your mail box with disposable email addresses by signing up with Sneakemail: this service forwards everything to your regular box without disclosing your real address. If you find your Sneakemail address is being abused, you can simply delete it. Plus, it will help you track down businesses that flog your address to third party marketers. Neat. < http://sneakemail.com/ >

Free email forwarding claiming to sport net's best anti-spam filters can be found at Despammed.com. Basically, it works as a remote spam filter. (That's why they term themselves a "mail filtration service".) < http://www.despammed.com/ >

Spamex takes a similar approach, offering disposable email addresses as a measure to counter spam. It doesn't bother with sophisticated spam filters, though - minute your Spamex address receives spam, simply nuke it and get a new one. You can also fit their log in box link into your web browser's links bar for facilitated access. Their slogan is noteworthy, too: "Because Sending You Email is a Privilege Not a Right!" < http://www.spamex.com/ >

One of best known anti-spam forwarders is Spammotel (what a name!) which also offers a pretty sophisticated, award winning plug-in for your email client, allowing you to keep track of whom you have given which email address of yours. This, of course, makes it dead easy to test web sites' privacy policy. Moreover, it makes for a great tool to help you organize e-mail you actually do want to receive. (Windows only.) < http://www.spammotel.com/ >

Mail Abuse Prevention System LLC offers a commercial spam protection forwarding service at: < https://stop.mail-abuse.org/ >

Spam filters ------------ Webmasters running their own mail server may be interested in The MAPS Relay Spam Stopper, a queryable DNS-based database of spam-relaying mail servers. You can configure your server to utilize their list if you want to refuse mail from these types of servers. < http://work-rss.mail-abuse.org/rss/ >

The same site offers Realtime Blackhole List (RBL). This is a system for creating intentional network outages ("blackholes") for purpose of limiting transport of known-to-be-unwanted mass e-mail. The RBL is a subscription-only system, working in such a manner that no one is denied connectivity to a non-RBLSM-subscriber. < http://mail-abuse.org/rbl/ >

I have been unable to find a universally accepted, fits-all definition of spam. There are many ideas about spam and just what it really is. In my opinion it is receiving unsolicited email (email which you have not opted to receive). Even this definition must be applied judiciously and with a certain amount of common sense.

For example, a dear friend could forward an email which you find offensive. Should you be in a bad mood, you could report your friend for spam (and also originator of email your friend forwarded, even though it was not originator's intent for you to receive this unsolicited email). In this situation originator (who is innocent of wrongdoing) and your friend will most likely lose their ISP and web host provider simply because you are having a bad day. Is this fair?

More and more ezine publishers and article writers are being accused of spam and forced to fight their ISPs and web host providers. Many of these spam complaints are totally unfounded. In some cases it is because a person forgot they subscribed to ezine and when they receive it they say they have been spammed. In other cases person has written an article which was published in an ezine accused of spamming. Here all advertisers and article writers are accused of spam and lose their ISPs and web host providers.

These advertisers and article writers did not commit offense of spamming. They were accused by association. Most articles written for internet are free for publication, which means anyone can use them as long as articles and resource boxes remain intact. Unless writer is being paid for article, there is no way of knowing when, how or by whom article will be published.

The truly unfair method currently used to fight spam considers everyone accused of spam to be automatically guilty. The great majority of ISPs and web host providers shut you down without a second thought when you are accused of spam.

You are not given a chance to prove your innocence. Guilty or not, you are shut down. For most of those trying to make a profit on internet, this is a sword hanging over their heads. Every time they write an article for publication or send out an ezine they are taking chance of being unfairly accused of spamming.