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copyright what user could say when reporting spam


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What could an user say this when reporting spam to mailing list owners without breaking any copyright law(s)? If not what could / should a user say?

Please remeber that it has be to point and has to be less than, I think the last I checked, 500 characters

Failure to follow these rules, (#1, #2, and or #3), your e-mail 
will be marked and or considered as spam.

Please next time to be sure to send a confirm message confirming that 
I want to be on your mailing list. Then I must confirm that I want to 
be on your mailing list (for your reference some text from 
http://www.spamcop.net/fom-serve/cache/104.html


#1 Verify email addresses

Sometimes, people will use a fake email address when signing up for 
something. Once in a while, this fake address can be someone else's 
real address. The recipient then sees your mailing as spam. Also, 
people have been known to take revenge on spam-fighters by signing 
them up for hundreds of mailing lists at once. Ideally, all mailing 
lists should protect against this. You can protect against this by 
asking each list subscriber to respond with a special code that you 
send out in email:

    1. New user (Joe) asks to be added to list.
    2. You send email with enable-code to Joe confirming signup.
    3. Joe replies to your email.
    4. Signup confirmed, and Joe is added to your list.

This is the method most noncommercial lists use, as well as well run 
commercial systems like http://www.deja.com/

This is a bit of a barrier for a commercial list, so you may decide 
to avoid verification of this kind, but you should be extra careful 
in your removal procedures if you do forgo address verification. You 
should also be prepared for fallout from this (IMHO) bad decision.

#2 ** Identify yourself clearly

At the start of your mailing, identify your company and tell the 
recipients where you got their email addresses and when/where they 
authorized you to use their addresses for sending this mailing. For 
example "This email is sent from www.widgets.com. You authorized this 
mailing when you registered your widget on our web-site. See below 
for removal directions.")

=== End text from http://www.spamcop.net/fom-serve/cache/104.html  ===

#3 Also next time in your e-mail to me: (Some text from 
http://spam.abuse.net/marketerhelp/

First of all, we always think that more communications is better than 
less. If someone gives you an e-mail address at your web site, when 
you use it, mention where and and when and from what host or address 
you got it. For example, when sending out a newsletter, include at 
the bottom something like this:

We were given your e-mail address at our web site 
www.<companyname>.com on <date> by someone coming from <hostname> <IP 
address>.

This serves to remind people of when they subscribed to your site and 
helps reduce the number of complaints from people who forget they 
even asked for your newsletter.

=== End text from http://spam.abuse.net/marketerhelp/ =====

Now do you understand what these rulres are why they exist?

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I'm not sure of the context here. Most "responsible" e-mail admins would trash something like this, probably blocking anything in the future from you. Admins not so "responsibe" would be laughing as they deleted it.

The best 'legal' answer I could offer would be to contact the folks involved and get their approval for you use of their material. Example is a DNSReport screen capture I provided as background detail for a "How to Use ... Tools" item. Captured the data, did up the page, contacted the source, received and posted his approval to allow the page/data to stand ....

Your suggested "500 words" I'll guess is referring to the "fair use" laws and regulations .. there's actually quite a bit more to that set of guidelines ....

http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html for one example

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What could an user say this when reporting spam to mailing list owners without breaking any copyright law(s)? If not what could / should a user say?

[/code]

29598[/snapback]

Best keep it short

Like ;)

*******

spam SOURCE

Blocking IP RANGE for 12 months before relist

IP start 69.166.151.0

IP end 69.166.151.255

Do not respond to this message for 12 months all effort to will be blocked

*******

This particular IP range is just an example and I do not wish to infer that they need blocking (ADELPHIA)

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Basically, as Wazoo says there are the mailing list operators who care, who only need to know that something slipped by, and mailing list operators who don't care or are incompetent and will just delete.

Therefore, the best message is a short one. "I did not sign up for this mailing list. I did not receive a confirmation message. I do not want to be on this list. I will report any further emails as spam."

From my experience even explaining that the list is a 'bad' one (obviously bought) and informing the ISP does not stop mailing lists that are selling legitimate products. The one time it did, I had to do all kinds of research in order to convince them that something was broken.

It is no longer education to go into detail, but preaching.

Miss Betsy

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Mailing list operators who don't care or are incompetent and will just delete.

29614[/snapback]

Incompetent - I am assuming do not understand.

How can I make them care or understand why?

Therefore, the best message is a short one.  "I did not sign up for this mailing list.  I did not receive a confirmation message.  I do not want to be on this list.  I will report any further emails as spam." 

29614[/snapback]

Ok, what would I say to the ISP?

It is no longer education to go into detail, but preaching.

29614[/snapback]

Ok, what does that mean?

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How can I make them care or understand why?

29723[/snapback]

When the spam phenomenon first began, there were many people (particularly small businesses) who had unconfirmed mailing lists and added people to their lists indiscriminately. They had no problems because they removed people who did not want to be on their lists. At that time, one would get unsolicited email for all kinds of legitimate products.

However, as spam became more and more of a problem (even email for legitimate products can overwhelm a mailbox) and the porn spammers entered the picture, people found ways to continue legitimate mailing lists (by using confirmed subscription) and to stop unsolicited email (primarily through blocklists, but also through content filtering). A few years ago, there were many irate (rude) or upset (confused) mailing list operators complaining about blocklists until finally it became common knowledge how to manage a legitimate list. At that time, forums like this and well worded reports helped to 'educate' mailing list operators. A few pigheaded ones still complain about blocklists like paul graham. Nothing that people say will convince him blocklists have any value.

At the same time ISPs developed TOS and AUP and began cancelling spammers. Again, those who were legitimate cried foul, but with patient explanation most of them understood why ISPs needed to be careful about spammers as customers.

So the spammers started using trojans and open proxies to send their spam and now there are no legitimate products being sold any more by unsolicited email because people who are responsible and competent understand about mailing lists and would not use sleazy ways of marketing their products.

IOW, trying to educate the spammers is like 'preaching' to those who hang out on street corners trying to make a quick buck.

The people who need to be educated now are the ISPs who do not warn customers of infected machines and do not stop them from connecting. They are the ones who can educate end users on how to avoid infection.

So, if you want to educate someone, then start a campaign against irresponsible end users. Make how to be a responsible computer user compulsory education.

Also educate end users whose email is blocked to complain to their ISP about unreliable service. It is an uphill battle because ISPs listen to their customers not the recipient of the spam (that's why blocklists work because customers are unhappy and complain about being blocked while content filters don't since the *sender* of the spam never knows that anyone is upset.). Also, it is difficult to make an impact because there are areas where only Comcast, for instance, is available for broadband so even anti-spammers use them for connectivity (but not for email).

Miss Betsy

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