Internet spammer can't take what he dishes out

The Detroit Free Press ^ | December 6, 2002 | MIKE WENDLAND

[A.J.Armitage]

West Bloomfield bulk e-mailer Alan Ralsky, who just may be the world's biggest sender of Internet spam, is getting a taste of his own medicine.

Ever since I wrote a story on him a couple of weeks ago (www.freep.com/money/tech/mwend22_20021122.htm), he says he's been inundated with ads, catalogs and brochures delivered by the U.S. Postal Service to his brand-new $740,000 home.

It's all the result of a well-organized campaign by the anti-spam community, and Ralsky doesn't find it funny.

"They've signed me up for every advertising campaign and mailing list there is," he told me. "These people are out of their minds. They're harassing me."

That they are. Gleefully. Almost 300 anti-Ralsky posts were made on the Slashdot.org Web site, where the plan was hatched after spam haters posted his address, even an aerial view of his neighborhood.

"Several tons of snail mail spam every day might just annoy him as much as his spam annoys me," wrote one of the anti-spammers.

Ralsky is indeed annoyed. He says he's asked Bloomfield Hills attorney Robert Harrison to sue the anti-spammers.

[A.J.Armitage]

Here's a Slashdot thread about it. I'll give you a warning, though. When you see this post, avert your eyes, because it has a spamming lowlife's personal information, which is an FR no-no. I wouldn't want to be responsible for leading you astray, so you've had fair notice. If by some chance you see it, don't do anything with it, because that would be very naughty, and Santa will give you coal.

[anniegetyourgun]

Please sir, more spam?

[Eala]

Minnow Pond Dr., eh? LOL.

[Eala]

(Oops. Did I commit a no-no?)

[Arkie2]

Some coal would be nice for Christmas in exchange for giving spammers a taste of their own medicine. Some of the junk I get in my E-mail is really revolting and that's just the header. I never open the stuff.

[ibbryn]

Gee. I was having a pretty rotten day until now. Thanks for making me smile!

My hotmail account is practically worthless cuz of all the spam. I've had to get new accounts several times but the crap always catches up with me. I bet its a lot harder to move to a new house.

Poor guy, I really feel for him...

[elbucko]

Some of the junk I get in my E-mail is really revolting and that's just the header. I never open the stuff.

I agree. Not only spam but other abuses of e-mail that have just about rendered a really great way to communicate difficult, risky and uncertain.

I hate to say it, but it may need to be "Regulated".(sigh)

[A.J.Armitage]

(Oops. Did I commit a no-no?)

Yes, you did. Mistress Zelda will now spank you.

[jammer]

Actually, I think this sort of regulation is just fine. No government and nobody (yet) has gotten kneecapped.

[TheHound]

This post requires an Obligatory Monty Python routine. "Or you can have spam, spam, spam, eggs and spam."

[A.J.Armitage]

I hate to say it, but it may need to be "Regulated".(sigh)

Civil society, and the spontaneous order created by free actors can handle the regulation, as we're seeing here.

*Not that I'd recommend anything.*

And as a special reminder, don't do anything with this, and don't even look at it.

[Atlas Sneezed]

Even a hardcore Libertarian could not object to anti-spam legislation that permitted anyone to send anything they want, but only if they identify unsolicited bulk mailings with a code in then header to enable filtering. A simple requirement to provide accurate consumer information.

(Today, I got an email that started playing an audio/video commercial, and it kept playing even after I deleted it! I had to shout (I'll leave in this typo!) down the email software to stop the noise.)

[A.J.Armitage]

I certainly wouldn't object. It wouldn't ever actually be included, since they'd go off-shore, but at least you could track down the guilty parties and charge them with leaving out the code. I'm sure you could find lots of volunteers to help catch them, and even more to administer creative punishments.

[backhoe]

Want to strike back at the malicious & childish clowns who send spam and viruses? Look here:

-http://www.all-nettools.com/tools1.htm--

... for online traceroutes and other help, so you can email all the ISP's in the chain that propagated the garbage, and let them investigate.

[APBaer]

"And as a special reminder, don't do anything with this, and don't even look at it"

When you don't look at it you therefore won't notice that there is a misprint:
"Bloowfield" should be Bloomfield". I'm just pointing this out so that if you see anyone who has written "Bloowfield" anywhere, you will know he has been naughty and you can report him to Santa

[A.J.Armitage]

Thanks. You get a Risk card.

[Billy_bob_bob]

I'm now using Yahoo mail for about %99 of my mail needs. They seem to really care about stopping spam, I rarely get spam in my Yahoo mailbox and when I do I report it right away. They shut down the spammers right quick. My Hotmail/MSN account, on the other hand, has become worthless due to spam. I get 90 spams for every real letter, hence the account has become useless and I no longer access it.

[Drippy]

I have also been real happy with yahoo.I get virtually no spam.As opposed to hotmail,where I used to get tons.

[Eastbound]

Is a permit to air drop leaflets required? How about parachuting I-don't-CARE packages of emergency SPAM?

[weegee]

Physical junk mail is regulated, however. He can't receive offensive porn catalogs from mass mailers without specifically giving them permission to send it to him (some anti-spammers may have "approved" such mailings on his behalf but that may violate some laws).