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ArchivesRe: Spam
in reply to a message by Juliette
Wow Juliette,
Ask a simple question, unleash a firestorm of hissy-fits. Actually Priapos (Buddy) Lovs' second posting is technically correct, in that "spam" is historically defined as MULTIPLE postings that are of only marginal interest to most of the recipients.
What a lot of people mean by "spam" these days, tho, is the electronic equivalent of the junk mail that clutters up your post box: you know, Get Rich Quick, Cure Cancer With Pond Slime, Get A PhD in Twelve Minutes.
There are folks out there who stand to make money off this, and who glean e-mail addresses posted by innocents on sites like this for their mass e-mailings. That's a good reason not to post your e-mail address indiscriminately, just as you wouldn't randomly post your last name and phone number.
"Spam" in a broader sense also occurs on message boards, in the form of advertising posts, mindless prepubescent dribblings (My name, Gutbucket, is the most AWESOME name going. It kicks ass!), and fraudulent attempts to represent oneself as another poster.
Posts whose only purpose is to be obscene or abusive or to annoy or alienate the general populace of the board are really "trolling" (i.e., posted by "trolls"), but we call 'em spam here for convenience. Our Webmaster, Mr. Campbell, in my opinion does an excellent job of throwing the toads out without limiting the off-topic meanderings that so many of us here are prone to.
You'd probably figured out most of that anyway, but maybe this'll help.
Ask a simple question, unleash a firestorm of hissy-fits. Actually Priapos (Buddy) Lovs' second posting is technically correct, in that "spam" is historically defined as MULTIPLE postings that are of only marginal interest to most of the recipients.
What a lot of people mean by "spam" these days, tho, is the electronic equivalent of the junk mail that clutters up your post box: you know, Get Rich Quick, Cure Cancer With Pond Slime, Get A PhD in Twelve Minutes.
There are folks out there who stand to make money off this, and who glean e-mail addresses posted by innocents on sites like this for their mass e-mailings. That's a good reason not to post your e-mail address indiscriminately, just as you wouldn't randomly post your last name and phone number.
"Spam" in a broader sense also occurs on message boards, in the form of advertising posts, mindless prepubescent dribblings (My name, Gutbucket, is the most AWESOME name going. It kicks ass!), and fraudulent attempts to represent oneself as another poster.
Posts whose only purpose is to be obscene or abusive or to annoy or alienate the general populace of the board are really "trolling" (i.e., posted by "trolls"), but we call 'em spam here for convenience. Our Webmaster, Mr. Campbell, in my opinion does an excellent job of throwing the toads out without limiting the off-topic meanderings that so many of us here are prone to.
You'd probably figured out most of that anyway, but maybe this'll help.
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