Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Spam

We all get it..... somehow some of it manages to elude the gatekeepers guarding our mailboxes. No matter what software you are using, or internet provider, or how vigilant you are at keeping your address from the general public, these parasites manage to worm their way into your personal space. I have a few web-based email addresses that I use whenever I am forced to enter an email address anywhere - whether it is to sign up for online newspaper access or to buy something from a commercial site. Those are the ones that produce a flood of unwanted spam from under every rock buried under the foundation of the internet. My primary email address, which I pay for via my SBC Global account, is amazingly free of spam. SBC Yahoo does one helluva job keeping it out (so far). But I am very stingy with that account and only use it for personal email. Anything else goes to one of my 'free' mail accounts. And those accounts are overrun with spam at all times of the day or night. I guess you get what you pay for.

Which begs the question - who in their right mind actually reads this stuff? Who would actually click on one of those links? Seems like a lot of people are interested in cheap rolexes, access to various prescription drugs (vicodin, viagra, etc), want to view free porn, increase the size of their male member, and untold other things. Sometimes the subject of the spam is cleverly hidden - so I will check the missive just to be sure. Silly me - if I don't recognize the email addy you would think I would know better. And there it is - another friggin' ad for something I don't want, need, or believe would actually serve any useful purpose at all! Is this business really that lucrative? It must be because there sure is alot of it. Someone must be buying what they're selling or it would stop being profitable. I refuse to 'click' because I know that means someone is gonna get paid for bothering me! It's the principle of the thing..... But someone, somewhere is clicking at this very second. Amazing, isn't it?

Before Texas started their "Do Not Call" list, I bought a TeleZapper at Radio Shack. That sucker worked like a charm! Within a couple months, my telemarketing calls were down to nothing. When the "Do Not Calls" came out, I signed up for them also. If I am needing something, I will go looking for it! Don't call me - I'll call you! Why can't we do that for spam also? And don't give me that freedom of speech crap either. You can advertise all you want - but don't solicit me directly.....

I just wish people would stop reading, and if they must read, don't CLICK!!! Don't put money in the pockets of the bottomfeeders who are generating this stuff from their kitchen table in their spare time!

Okay - rant officially over now. We now return to our scheduled programming.......

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