[pmmail-list] Spam -- your definition

[Brian Morrison]

On Thu, 30 May 2002 11:00:24 -0300, PMMail OS/2 Support wrote:

>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"?
[snip]
>Examples: Some people say to me that *any* unsolicited email is
>"spam".

Definitely ridiculous, there are, and have been for 20 years plus now,
commonly (before mass internet access arrived) held views on when it is
permissible to send people email without them expecting it. Little
different from the use of postal mail. I really dislike the junk mail
that arrives on my doormat on 2 days in 3, but I know that it cost the
sender money so if their response rates are low their cost of sale is
high. That is a self-limiting mechanism that email just doesn't have.

>Some people say any *bulk* email is "spam". If you send it to more
>than one person, you're a spammer. 

Generally incorrect, one needs to define bulk.  A few hundred, or maybe
a few thousand, is acceptable in the case of a mailing list, or a
company contacting ex-employees about pension rights perhaps. In the UK
though one has to be careful about this as the data protection
legislation requires you to have explicit permission to use their
details. Of course litigation is limited to the rich and those who get
legal aid, most of us can't afford it.

>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.

I take some issue with this above paragraph, I have some (very small)
tolerance for people that bother me with unsolicited commercial
contact, but I get very angry with calls from people trying to sell me
double glazing because not only am I ex-directory (so where the hell
did they get my number?) but I also know that when I want double
glazing I will call them. I can count on the fingers of one hand the
number of things I have bought that I found out about in this way. If I
had as many unsolicited commercial phone calls as I get individual
unsolicited email (50 a day on bad days) then I would have blown an
artery by now, every call would be met with a torrent of anger and
abuse for violating what little spare time I have. Spam is no
different; I get so angry with spam because most of it is written and
sent by people without the intelligence they were born with and wastes
my very precious time with throwing it away (and I think *that* when my
spam defences bin 95% of it sight unseen). Most of it is clearly
violating the laws of physics, natural law or the law of the land, and
I get even angrier knowing that the remove addresses are not that but
an address-verification mechanism.

>
>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.

This category is a pretty good definition, most spam I receive meets
this. I do let go contact from one company I once bought something from
who occasionally (semi-annually?) send me a short update news letter,
although I never asked them to. Anything where email headers are
obfuscated or cloaked or contain only numeric addresses goes straight
into the bin, or is returned to abuse@<isp> immediately.

I agree that the law needs to reflect reality, and it would be
impossible to ban all unsolicited mail. In practice I expect that the
law will be written in a way ensuring that the lawyers can get rich
arguing it out in court. That's what laws are for, right?

-- 
Brian Morrison                                       bdm@fenrir.org.uk
              do you know how far this has gone?
               just how damaged have I become?
                                      'Even Deeper' by Nine Inch Nails

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