[pmmail-list] Spam -- your definition

[PMMail OS/2 Support]

On Thu, 30 May 2002 09:52:06 +0100, Brian Morrison wrote:

>Since I loathe html mail (and spam, which most of it is) 

This reminded me of something I have been pondering on lately. What
is your (each of you) definition of "spam"?

I believe that the world Internet community is making a potentially
dangerous "vague" use of the word "spam". Since words need commonly
understood definitions to be useful (just like Internet standards,
btw) it seems odd to me that people talk about "spam" as much as they
do -- in fact, laws are even being passed about "spam" -- without any
concrete, commonly understood or accepted definition.

I know, many of us believe we know exactly what "spam" is, but the
point is not does *one* of us have a definition, the point is, doe we
*share* the definition?

Examples: Some people say to me that *any* unsolicited email is
"spam". This, to me, seems obviously ridiculous. If I send an email
to someone saying that I saw them post about a computer problem and I
was wondering if they ever found a solution, that's unsolicited
contact. Should this be considered "spam"?

Some people say any *bulk* email is "spam". If you send it to more
than one person, you're a spammer. OK, what if you're looking for a
job? You probably (if you're following common sense advice) send your
resume -- by email these days -- to at least a handful, maybe up to a
few hundred companies, who probably didn't ask you to do so. "Spam"?

Some people say any unsolicited *commercial* email is "spam". OK,
that seems easier to buy, but then why the furious response to these
emails? Unsolicited commercial contact has been around in society for
at least hundreds of years. People come to your door or call you on
the phone and ask if you'll buy their products. They send you flyers
in the mail or through other direct delivery methods, etc. Sure we
don't love it, but most of us don't attempt to have those
callers/mailers arrested and/or their businesses shut down because of
it. In fact, North American business as we know it would likely be
severely adversely affected (for at least the short term) if we
suddenly outlawed unsolicited pitches in person, by phone, fax or
postal mail.

Some people say that "spam" is (1) unsolicited (2) bulk (3)
commercial email that is (4) fraudulent and/or (5) does not contain
any real contact info or method of demanding that the contact stop.
Personally I like that definition because it gives us a target that
we can all agree should be prevented.

Which definition do you use?


--
Trevor Smith
PMMail/2 Technical Support
pmmailos2@blueprintsoftwareworks.com

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