pt40fathoms, I apoligize in advance because I am in no way trying to attack you personally, but you raise some points that I feel the need to respond to as someone who deals with spam and email problems on a corporate level every day as part of my job.
pt40fathoms:
The fact that the person knew who the message was comming from, and in fact could send and receive messages from the source of the EMail, add to that the fact that they have very clearly signed up for this service. Clearly puts those EMails as far removed from SPAM as can be. The fact that some people are silly and complain, just proves a level of understanding far below what one would consider normal..
These days, SPAM can be very clever. The sender can mask the email so that not only do you not know where it came from, it can appear to come from a known or trusted source. Especially when the spammer is using a virus of some variety. Add to that the fact that many people who use the internet and email services either aren't paying close attention or aren't really conversant with the technology that that they are using and the situationg can get very complicated. Large numbers of people apply for free email accounts, memberships, etc. online without reading the fine print of the agreements they are clicking 'ok' to. Often those agreements stipulate that the other party is allowed to give or sell your email address and personal information to a third party.
pt40fathoms:
SPAM, is very clearly and simply unsolicited EMail for the sole purpose of marketing a product or service. The product or service may or may not be legal for sale, and in most cases they are not legal for sale. The v1@gr@ and the dozens of other spellings of words is one main key to spotting SPAM. As we all know, or should know, they misspelll words so as to try and fool SPAM filters. Clearly because they have resorted to this tactic, they are aware of the fact that the recipients of the messages do not wish to receive the message. They would be clearly and easily targeted by any law prohibiting SPAM. Pornographic and sexually explicit messages would also be easy to spot, as would the advertisments for the dozens of other so called drugs they try to push..
SPAM is more than just sales and marketing. Viruses, Trojans, etc. all can use spamming as a way to spread themselves by burrowing into your list of friends in your email and sending themselves to those people. Of course at the same time you are right that spammers trying to sell products are constantly changing spelling, etc to get around spam filters. It's an ongoing battle right now that is almost impossilble to keep up on. For these reasons, and others, it is not always easy to filter the garbage automatically. Even laws aren't easy to pass or enforce because of the ease with which spam crosses borders. Passing a law in Canada has a limited effect if the spammer is set up in Taiwan, for example. The cost/benifit ratio also figures in here. After initial setup spamming is almost free, so if you can send millions of emails and get a few dozen responses you are still ahead of the game. That makes the game very attractive to advertisers and makes them very attentive to loopholes that allow them to continue posting.
pt40fathoms:
I am tired of it, and want it to stop. I am not just complaining here, I am complaining very loudly and often to the federal politicians here in Canada. Maybe they will get tired of hearing from me on the phone and do something, I reverse the charges, and they always accept. They have too, because when they don't they know the media will hear of it.
Many people want it to stop, and are complaining. Governments know this, and so does the media.
I could go on for pages about this, but I'm trying to keep it short and just touch on a few of the issues in an attempt to show that the problem is a little more complicated and difficult than many wish it were.
