The advertisement from "Jeff" was part of one of the most mammoth spamming initiatives I've ever seen. I saw it (and a companion piece which offered an instruction manual on how to spam the internet for profit) at least a dozen times, in various forms. Twice, the automatic spam-intercepting software at UNB caught it before it was distributed to CASLL. But "Jeff" is pretty clever, and totally without the slightest hint of ethics or consideration: he'd ruin the Internet for $5 in clear profit, I'm sure. > Is there any way we can monitor/control content on our list? Or > should we investigate the fine art of "flaming" as a means to pull > ranks when unwanted flotsam and jetsam washes up on our shores? (I > presume that we're probably too polite a bunch for that, but I > understand it involves everyone sending the perpetrator a number of > messages all at once to flood their mailbox). Unfortunately, there is nothing whatever to be done. These slimeballs get accounts with internet providers, use them to spam the net, and when the provider gets flooded with protest messages and cancels their account, just go find another one and do it again. They never see our outraged flames (they _do_ see profits from the gullible people Michael referred to who buy their garbage, though, which is why they keep doing it). I understand there _is_ software which would accept only mail from members of the list, but there are problems with it, and we haven't been bothered often enough for me to try to figure out how to get it implemented. So far, the spam filter has been working pretty effectively (it sends questionable messages to me, and I decide whether they're really intended for CASLL or not. So far, none has been). -- Russ [By the way, anyone who's like a boxed set of grammar and style patches, together with an instruction manual and a certified cattle prod for difficult cases, can send $49.95 in money order or cash (no personal cheques, please) to the address below, along with a written statement affirming that the merchandise will only be used for ethical purposes, and not for passing writing competency tests.] __|~_ Russell A. Hunt __|~_)_ __)_|~_ HOMEPAGE: www.StThomasU Department of English )_ __)_|_)__ __) .ca/faculty/hunt.htm St. Thomas University | )____) | EMAIL: [log in to unmask] Fredericton, New Brunswick___|____|____|____/ FAX: (506) 450-9615 E3B 5G3 CANADA \ / PHONE: (506) 363-3891 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~