Re: ADVISORY: Unsolicited spams to list members Re: ADVISORY: Unsolicited spams to list members>
> That case seems nice and clean, but my experience has been that it
> relates to a minority of the offenders that reach me... Most of the
> time there is no reply to my message. This also does not apply to
> inappropriate postings to newsgroups.
I find complaints to postmaster@ on-line services are likely to receive a
prompt response stating that the offending account has been closed. The
on-line providers seems to be quite sensitive to the reputation their
subscribers are creating on the net. Specifically I know Delphi responds.
Edu sites are less likely to respond.
> Similarly, complaining to the postmaster at that site does not help,
> at best a whipping occurs, or an account gets deleted. So what, it costs
> very little to open a new account and do it again. Besides, the first
> time for each account, they can claim ignorance...
Having to move an account from place to place is not exactly an effective
way to build a business. Though some spammers seems to have one or more
accounts to spam from and then maintain another address for replies.
> My current approach is to reply to the spam so as to try and cause as
> much work and cost as possible for the spammer, and as little as
> possible for me. So, you can for example ask for technical info, ask
> for shipping info, ask for a dealer price sheet, ask for international
The problem with this approach, though it may be emotionally satisfying,
is that it gives the spammer the incorrect idea that he is reaching live
prospects, which will tend to encourage him/her in his spamming. Better
to be up front and tell them where to get off.
Frank
Frank Kroger, Seattle, WA, USA. fkroger@halcyon.com
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