Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2001 14:54:39 EST Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Steve Huy Subject: Spam, MDOSPREY & Norm Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit 1) Norm has created a fine and reliable resource and product for Maryland birders. Your problems are not related to, caused by, or in any way related to his efforts. GREAT JOB NORM AND MANY THANKS!!!!!!!!! He is entitled to defend his contribution, particularly if attacked or blamed unfairly. 2) MDOSPREY is a fine listserv, feel lucky, privileged, that it is available to us, not to mention at such a reasonable price. It is safe and extremely efficient as far as listservs go. Your problems are not related to, caused by, or in any way related to MDOSPREY. Again, THANKS NORM!!!!!!!!!! 3)Your ISP (Internet Service Provider) may be the cause of your troubles. Some ISPs sell user info so that may be how you ended up on those objectionable mailing lists. 4)The other possibility is the same type of machine that telemarketers utilize to call you during dinner: Behind the catchy email address you chose is a string of numbers that makes up your real address. Most people aren't even aware of it. If you recall old compuserve addresses, that is what they are like. For example, if you visit my website, I've got your email address in the numeric form and I could record it and use it for a mailing list. (don't worry, I don't) E-marketers can mail these numbers at random, chosen by computer, to send you all kinds of offers to get you hot, enlarged, rich or whatever other garbage they want you to try (no apologies if I have offended any of you marketers by calling this garbage - would be worse but that type of language is nearly as bad as what you sell). They can also computer generate text emails at random. When I get these, and I get many on AOL, I can see that the addresses are all alphabetical. Some are not valid (I checked)so they must be chosen at random. Even if you visit a good, wholesome, birds only website, your email address might be recorded to be sold to legitimate marketing companies and eventually end up in the hands of these losers. Believe it or not, I've visited a lot of wildlife sites lately and noticed that my invitations to visit XXX farm animal sites has increased. Why? because they are looking for the few wierdos with a perverted appreciation for animals. Although its smut, demographics works just the same. Animal lovers will visit many of the same sites even if for different reasons. Best advice, if you have internet access, is to have several accounts if possible. Save one for surfing. Use the other for personal email and lists. That's what I do and it works rather well. I still get a few smutty emails, but they are the "random dial" type and are rare. But once they hit an address and it doesn't bounce, you're on their list. Best advice is to report it to your ISP. For example, AOL has a special address, TOSSPAM, for their users that I can forward this stuff to. They will block the sender. Unfortunately it is very easy for the sender to get a new email and they still have you on their list. But it will keep the junk to a minimum. Good luck! Its a sick world and unfortunately the 'net, a thing that can bring so much good to us, also lets the bad get into our homes. Steve Huy Middletown, MD ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================