I was delighted to see this notorious spammer finally get his comeuppance. At least for the time being – it will probably go before SCOTUS before it’s all over.
You can filter for “viagra” and “v1agra” and you can solve the vast majority of your spam problem by signing up for Cloudmark - the best $40 a year I ever spent. But one category of spam that we can’t do anything about is spam from friends and family. Like spam theology or like this:
CANCER CANDLE
All you are asked to do is keep this circulating.
Even if it’s to one more person.
In memory of anyone you know that has been struck down by cancer
A Candle Loses Nothing by Lighting Another Candle.
Please Keep This Candle Going!
This one, I do ask that you send on
Thank You.
Now, I ask you – WHO did that help? What on earth was the purpose? WHO THINKS THIS STUFF UP?! Honestly!! I dearly love the person who sent this to me and would not hurt her feelings for the world. I know that she received it, thought of two dear friends who died of breast cancer, and sent it on. But consider the content:
All you are asked to do is keep this circulating. [WHY? Cui bono?]
Even if it’s to one more person.
In memory of anyone you know that has been struck down by cancer [We remember our loved ones regardless of any cheesy email, and there's no list of names we're memorializing here, so what's the point again?]
A Candle Loses Nothing by Lighting Another Candle. [But I'm not a candle, and these emails take time and use resources.]
Please Keep This Candle Going! [But WHY?]This one, I do ask that you send on [Implied: "because you've disappointed me so many times before"]
I hate things that don’t make sense. It would at least make sense if there was a link to donate to something breast cancer-related. Few people would use it, but it would provide some justification for the email. But this, I just don’t get.
Putting on my conspiracy-theory hat… what if people like that notorious spammer start these emails, knowing that eventually it’s bound to come back to them – along with several hundred email addresses? It’s possible… Just think about it. If nothing else, if gives you a reason to overcome the built-in guilt trips in these emails and just hit Delete.
