Spam .. Is it really that bad

[msealsmusic]

Ok first I want to start with what i am saying is an opinion and opinions are like buttholes .. everyone has one and the all stink (including mine)


OK now I don't want to get into the age old fight frredom of speech and stufff BUT what I want to know is why all the fuss
I have a hotmail account and I get about 150 - 200 spam emails a day . these all automatically go to a deleted folder that I never see.

I heard how it boggs down the net with all the sending and messes up my servers with all the recieving But most emails are under 50 - 100 bytes I don't think the few hundred I get do that much damage and if the few hundred per client bogs down places like hotmail then maybe they shyould get out of the email buisness. I mean I pay for my internet service and if they can't handle the traffic they get (yes I know the less the cheaper their service can be) perhaps they are in the wrong buisness.

In a nutshell the only reason this is a problem is it effects everyone. I think they should take the money they spend on the spam problems (if it is like everything else the government spends billions of dollars on it just so (insert your favorite canadite here) can look good and get more votes) and use it for preventing child porn or something that is a greater (in my book) problem

I started a site a few years back where I was searching for child porn and then I would take a screen shot of where and what it was (have to have proof) then I would get the ip of who actually served the porn (simple view code and trace it down) and then contacted the main server with a message. Then i posted the ip on my website. The site got shut down because someone spammed about it (not me) so I started reporting it to the government (Most i found was in us and canada) They was all thanky for the info and later I checked (I kept an eye on it for several months) it was still up. they never did a thing about it.
For every spam email you get a day I could have showed you 100 Child porn websites / ftps / other server methods.

But tell you what lets stop an email cause you don't want to hit delete and let our children get raped and exploited ..(Only in america) Anyway I have raved enough and I am sure will get replies how I am so wrong in my opinion

[Czar]

Hmmm...Apples and oranges in that cart.

Of course there should be substantial resources allocated to the protection of our children. I don't see the connection between that and budgeting for spam control, however, particularly since the private sector seems to be adopting the greater portion of fiscal responsibility when it comes to tackling this issue.

Spam isn't just a consumer of server resources and essential infrastructure but, more importantly, it's a consumer of time - the most precious of all resources. It would be hypocritical of me now to waste your time with a diatribe about just how much further a human being could evolve as a philosophical entity if (s)he wasn't forced to carry out mundane and unnecessary tasks like wading through hundreds of junk messages daily, so...I won't.

Spam is also frequently dangerous (Nigerian spam, ID theft messages that steal the brands of eBay, PayPal and banks, etc), deceptive (spoofed senders) and misleading (false advertising, viri, etc). These are all elements that prey upon the weak, which I'm sure you'll appreciate is unjust.

[cheznoir]

One good reason why spam is bad:
http://www.donotreply.com/archives/000006.html

And spam costs very real money, we estimate it costs us between $4,000-$5,000 a year in increased diskstorage and bandwidth. Our mail servers don't get a few hundred a day, we get a few hundred thousand. If it isn' t so bad, you can feel free to pay our imaginary costs.

And its just not spam, its dictionary attacks on our mail servers, it resource domination on our websites sucking in emails.

Spam is the #1 complaint we have with our hosting business.

As for the crime comparison, should there be no traffic tickets issued because an unsolved murder exists? It is a silly bit of logic.

And spam really does have a giant impact on the economy, think of every host and how much they waste fighting it, think of every user in the world having to take 2 minutes a day to deal with it - it all adds up, and for what?? There are no benefits, unless you are a spammer.

Chet

[Steve_S]

AND ...one only needs to look at Fortune 1000 Corps to see the incredible amount of time and money they spend on the Spam issue.

We are talking 6 figures each and more. I have friends in this sector and untill they told me their "stories" I had no clue on exactly how exspensive and time consuming the issue is.

[girl]

besides mentioning its ANNOYING....always report spam and invest in a good spam filter.....i see spam like traffic....hinders u from getting to your destination fast!

[sdarken]

Girl,
Do you have any suggestions for what to do about people that visit a discussion forum and post the same thing eg: "Try incentivised traffic" about 10 times in a very short period of time. Is there a filter available for that kind of stuff?

[girl]

sdarken....i think that comment was highly unmerited considering i have not spammed anywere.....and i was eager to start posting....if u think i'm a quick hit and run.....think again....i am here to stay and to post as appropriate.....the advice i gave was truly because i believe in it....and because I know PTR and because i know exactly how members react to ads which are NOT PTR related!!! They go running to the forum to talk about recieving an ad from the 'outside PTR world'. So I posted TRY INCENTIVEZED TRAFFIC because I KNOW it WORKS!

[sdarken]

I edited my post to change the word "spam" to "stuff" since, technically, you are correct.

If you really intend to stay and be part of the forum then welcome.

Forgive me for being suspicious of your motives. When visitors start posting the same suggestion over and over.... which just happens to relate to their own website, then it is a little difficult not to be skeptical.

[girl]

cheers....i'll prove u wrong.....i know everyone is wary of the newbies cause they are the ones most likely to bug the regulars....happens in every forum I am a member of!