Re: PARSEC: SPAMMERS (not !)

In article <082801c6f777$c3cb7e60$2802a8c0@CHARONVAX>,
"Peter Weaver" <info-vax@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

<snip>

But the fact remains that they are running a non-confirmed mailing list.
This not only makes the mail they are sending out to this list spam it is
also a dangerous weapon on the Internet. Anyone can go to their website and
enter any address they want and that address will start to receive Parsec's
newsletter. How many people out there remember this thread
http://groups.google.ca/group/comp.os.vms/browse_thread/thread/c5c8e4a9132594f
/e2133e8c934bd119?hide_quotes=no#msg_2ae44a8e9d25421c ?
A named Jerrold Schiff asked a Cobol question. Paul Sture tried to reproduce
the error but could not and he told Jerrold that he would look at the actual
code and try to solve it. Jerrold had a problem with Paul's offer and
responded with a very childish insult.

The crazy thing there was that when I said didn't have enough
information to work on, he simply pointed me back at the exactly the
same question over on openvms.org (it's gone now).

I jumped into the thread to defend
Paul. Three days later Paul and I found ourselves signed up for 13 different
newsletters. Luckily they were all confirmed opt-in. At least one of them
that I received gave the IP address, date and time that my address was
signed up. The IP address happened to be the same one that Jerrold used when
he did his postings to COV.

Indeed, a proper opt in service tells you from which IP address the
original request for sign up came.

If Jerrold would have been smart enough to use non-confirmed opt-in
newsletters (like Parsec's) and if he did not run out of childish names to
call us then we could have found ourselves signed up for many many more
lists. Since they were confirmed opt-in lists we could simply ignore them.
But how many other people out there have a childish enough mentality that
they will sign up people for newsletters that they do not want? How many
people have signed up their doctor, their plumber or their teacher for
Parsec's newsletters? Leaving a non-confirmed mailing list on the web is a
dangerous thing, until Parsec cleans their list they are spamming.
Instructions for how to clean their list have been posted, but they would
rather keep sending their newsletters to people who may or may not want
them.


Yep. Drifting slightly from the main topic, this brings us to to the
topic of identity theft. That happened to me nearly 20 years ago, and
VAXMAN's recent post here about similar brought back painful memories.

(Report a substantial loss of money to your bank, get asked to report it
to the police, then find yourself in an interview room being accused of
doing it with the aid of an accomplice. The bank's handling of the
matter made me seriously wonder if it was an "inside job" that they were
trying to cover up.)

--
Paul Sture
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: PARSEC: SPAMMERS (not !)
    ... If Parsec had a confirmed opt-in mailing list I would probably subscribe. ... Paul Sture tried to reproduce the error but could not and he told Jerrold that he would look at the actual code and try to solve it. ... If Jerrold would have been smart enough to use non-confirmed opt-in newsletters and if he did not run out of childish names to call us then we could have found ourselves signed up for many many more lists. ...
    (comp.os.vms)
  • Re: Massive increase of spam on debian-*@l.d.o
    ... >> only lists currently spamming IPs, ... Reports from people to stupid or lazy to unsubscribe lists or newsletters ...
    (Debian-User)
  • Topica Help
    ... Thank you for inquiring about email newsletters and discussions at Topica. ... If you do not know the name, or you are looking for lists ... Simply click on the Easy Unsubscribe link that appears ...
    (Debian-User)