Re: [tlug] Skype

[Godwin Stewart <godwin.stewart@example.com>]

On Fri, 23 Dec 2005 21:49:05 +0900, "Stephen J. Turnbull"
<stephen@example.com> wrote:

> Actually, I've been getting their DeveloperWorks newsletter, and
> (except for the relentlessly breathless commentary of the main editor)
> it's quite good.  

I *didn't* sign up for it but still received it nonetheless for about a
year.

> Spamming sucks, of course, even if the product is
> good, but I'm curious---did you killfile them or did you try to
> unsubscribe, and they still wouldn't "relent"?

I didn't killfile them but promptly (read: automatically) fed anything they
sent me to SpamCop.

No, I would never attempt to unsubscribe from something to which I didn't
subscribe in the first place. All that achieves is confirming a "live"
address, resulting in loads more spam shortly afterwards.

They became "educated".

Temporarily at least.

I had an exchange with the outfit blasting their spam out (if you - Stephen
- are interested in details, mail me off-list and I'll see what I can dig
out; this didn't happen yesterday), which was otherwise reputedly white-hat,
and at the time I was in a position to bring moderate pressure to bear on
such outfits. It worked. At my request, they sent out requests for
confirmation so that subscribers to IBM's spam list^W^W newsletter who
really wanted it could maintain their subscription. The spam stopped for
me (and for everyone else who didn't want it in the first place) and I
released the pressure.

Shortly afterwards, I started receiving the IBM-SpamWorks messages again,
but from an altogether different source. I interpret that as IBM starting
their spamming antics again, their then mass-emailer (with whom I had the
exchange) whacking them in the nads with a mallet in response to
complaints, and IBM having to resort to other mass-emailers, most of which
are already blocked to hell and back anyway.

-- 
G. Stewart - godwin.stewart@example.com

Hurewitz's Memory Principle:
    The chance of forgetting something is directly proportional
    to ..... to ........ uh ..............

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