E-mail swamp

FTLComm - Tisdale - October 13, 2000

plain
awkward stupidity
Compared to the problems facing our world and our fellow man around the globe, my little issue today is pretty trivial. Trying to get one's head around the plain awkward stupidity of two Arabs blowing themselves up and killing seventeen Americans is far beyond my simple comprehension today. Even more disconcerting is why Yassar Arafat would order the people of Palestine to take to the streets so that Israeli forces would be forced to shoot at them when he and Israeli negotiators were on the brink of reaching an agreement on the resolution of Jerusalem. But alas here in Tisdale, though we can wonder and ponder we can not affect solutions on world situations that seems lost in hatred, prejudice and world economic forces.

twenty-five messages
Instead of facing up to the problems of the world when I connected to the Internet this morning I receive no less than twenty-five messages. Of those messages three were with companies I have dealt with and two, yes only two messages were from friends. It seems that with every product I purchase every transaction I carry out, every service I take advantage of, I am then inundated with screen trash.

five
reports
Actually I don't think I would even be that annoyed if it was not for the volume of people out there sending e-mail out in prodigious quantities hoping desperately that they will snag a few stupid people to try out schemes that they themselves have been snagged by. The most ridiculous of these is a lengthy message about how you can make an amazing fortune by sending out e-mail selling some five reports on how to make money sending out reports. Each day I get e-mail that involves some very dumb promotion and some that clearly have the taint of illegality.

money laundering
I have received both, e-mail, snail mail and faxes from Nigeria and at least one other African country asking me to assist in a money laundering scheme. The one that arrived by snail mail I actually hand delivered to the local RCMP detachment who showed about the same level of interest as a cow checking out its own reflection in a water trough. These schemes seem remarkably plausible and are just borderline enough to tempt a desperate business to get their hands on some dirty money.

twice a
week
At least twice a week I get e-mail from someone claiming to be a young woman wanting me to check out her pornographic site and at about the same rate I receive e-mail from gambling sites online offering me $25 of chips to try out their games. I get stock tips I don't want, advertisements for weight loss schemes and health food, all kinds of merchandise and several times a week I get e-mail urging me to get a free direct TV dish or telephone account. Don't these people have anything else to do?

blank
ones
The oddest e-mail I get are blank ones, about one or two a week, nothing in them and from no one, yesterday I got one from a guy offering free cartoons to put on Ensign only he did not give a return e-mail address or a URL to check out his work.

post
office
The more I complain about this the more you realise that this electronic connection is basically just like our post office. The fraction of mail that comes to you in a paper form is just as silly and just as bazaar It seems that about half the world is involved in some sort of scam to get your money. At the root of the problem is that so many people have moved from conventional work to what has become the new conventional work, the small home business. With little income flowing in these folks are constantly trying to come up with a new angle, a new hook to catch the online suckers.

Learn to recognise
the trash
Here are some things you can do. When you go to a web site offering some great prize and to get it all you need to do is sign up for it and donate your e-mail address, think again and realise that this is a ploy and you will just have to learn to do without that prize. When you sign up for some offer on the Internet of any kind give them a fake e-mail address "bob@lostsouls.com" or whatever, to prevent them from selling your e-mail address to idiots out there buying e-mail addresses. When you register a product check that box that says you do not want you e-mail address sold and you do not want to here from the company about updates. But even if you do these things you are sure to get hooked by some e-mail collectors and you will get your share from the e-mail swamp. Learn to recognise the trash and treat it the same way you do with junk mail at the post office.

Sincerely

Timothy W. Shire


FTLComm - Tisdale - October 13, 2000

plain awkward stupidity	Compared to the problems facing our world and our fellow man around the globe, my little issue today is pretty trivial. Trying to get one's head around the plain awkward stupidity of two Arabs blowing themselves up and killing seventeen Americans is far beyond my simple comprehension today. Even more disconcerting is why Yassar Arafat would order the people of Palestine to take to the streets so that Israeli forces would be forced to shoot at them when he and Israeli negotiators were on the brink of reaching an agreement on the resolution of Jerusalem. But alas here in Tisdale, though we can wonder and ponder we can not affect solutions on world situations that seems lost in hatred, prejudice and world economic forces.

twenty-five messages	Instead of facing up to the problems of the world when I connected to the Internet this morning I receive no less than twenty-five messages. Of those messages three were with companies I have dealt with and two, yes only two messages were from friends. It seems that with every product I purchase every transaction I carry out, every service I take advantage of, I am then inundated with screen trash.

five reports	Actually I don't think I would even be that annoyed if it was not for the volume of people out there sending e-mail out in prodigious quantities hoping desperately that they will snag a few stupid people to try out schemes that they themselves have been snagged by. The most ridiculous of these is a lengthy message about how you can make an amazing fortune by sending out e-mail selling some five reports on how to make money sending out reports. Each day I get e-mail that involves some very dumb promotion and some that clearly have the taint of illegality.

money laundering	I have received both, e-mail, snail mail and faxes from Nigeria and at least one other African country asking me to assist in a money laundering scheme. The one that arrived by snail mail I actually hand delivered to the local RCMP detachment who showed about the same level of interest as a cow checking out its own reflection in a water trough. These schemes seem remarkably plausible and are just borderline enough to tempt a desperate business to get their hands on some dirty money.

twice a week	At least twice a week I get e-mail from someone claiming to be a young woman wanting me to check out her pornographic site and at about the same rate I receive e-mail from gambling sites online offering me $25 of chips to try out their games. I get stock tips I don't want, advertisements for weight loss schemes and health food, all kinds of merchandise and several times a week I get e-mail urging me to get a free direct TV dish or telephone account. Don't these people have anything else to do?

blank ones	The oddest e-mail I get are blank ones, about one or two a week, nothing in them and from no one, yesterday I got one from a guy offering free cartoons to put on Ensign only he did not give a return e-mail address or a URL to check out his work.

post office	The more I complain about this the more you realise that this electronic connection is basically just like our post office. The fraction of mail that comes to you in a paper form is just as silly and just as bazaar It seems that about half the world is involved in some sort of scam to get your money. At the root of the problem is that so many people have moved from conventional work to what has become the new conventional work, the small home business. With little income flowing in these folks are constantly trying to come up with a new angle, a new hook to catch the online suckers.

Learn to recognise the trash	Here are some things you can do. When you go to a web site offering some great prize and to get it all you need to do is sign up for it and donate your e-mail address, think again and realise that this is a ploy and you will just have to learn to do without that prize. When you sign up for some offer on the Internet of any kind give them a fake e-mail address "bob@lostsouls.com" or whatever, to prevent them from selling your e-mail address to idiots out there buying e-mail addresses. When you register a product check that box that says you do not want you e-mail address sold and you do not want to here from the company about updates. But even if you do these things you are sure to get hooked by some e-mail collectors and you will get your share from the e-mail swamp. Learn to recognise the trash and treat it the same way you do with junk mail at the post office.

	Sincerely Timothy W. Shire