Spam spam spam spam!!! (continued, forever continued)

It can be the most annoying occurrence on the Internet, regarded by some as a complete and utter waste of time and space. This problem has become so bad that there are even people whose job it is to make sure it doesn’t happen. I am of course talking about the Spamming plague that seems to be taking over the email system.

Join any discussion group and Spamming seems to be the most passionately talked about topic. Everyone seems to be trying to find a solution. But can email ever really be completely Spam Proof?

Recent figures reveal that spam volumes worldwide have risen a staggering 400% in the past 12 months. At this rate, you can aptly describe the situation as an epidemic.

But just what is spamming? Spamming is the Internet’s version of junk mail and telemarketing. It is unsolicited mass-emailing by people who want to promote their products or services or just want to get their message across to as many people possible. While the senders see it as ‘cost effective’ marketing, the result is that hundreds and thousands of people, angry people at that, receive tons of emails that aren’t specifically targeted to them and they simply have no interest or need for.

So what can be done to rid your email of unwanted spam? What possible options do you have?

Some people believe that the easiest way to eliminate the problem is to forward all spam messages to your ISP (Internet Service Provider). The idea being that if enough people do this, ISP’s will be swamped with spam messages and hopefully take action against the culprits. But, while taking significant time on your behalf to forward all the messages, should it really be the responsibility of ISP’s to eradicate this problem?

Others believe that if you take advantage of a free e-mail service, for example Yahoo or Hotmail, you have to come to grips with the fact that you get what you pay for. In other words email services have to make money somehow right? It is alleged, that this is done by selling your email address to email marketers, who in turn send you junk email. Those people in turn make money because a small fraction of those on the receiving end of the emails do actually respond and become customers. A vicious cycle some may say.

Another solution could be to block your incoming mail so that you only receive mail from those people listed in your address book. This sounds OK, unless you’re in the business industry and are constantly looking for new internet promotion ideas or products, or even potential leads, as businesses do. How will these potential clients contact you if you’ve got your email blocked?

We are all for trying to curb unsolicited email but when the overly ardent ‘anti-spammers’ see absolutely everything, targeted or not, as spam this crosses the line. There is nothing wrong with using the Internet for business or trade purposes or even to send your resume to a list of potential employers. So by branding everything as spam, honest, ethical internet business practices are being seriously impeded.

For the problem to be truly resolved a common ground must be found where anti-spammers stop over reacting and spammers stop viewing the entire Internet as their target market. Sounds simple enough, but can this ever really be reached?

About the Author

Alec Ellis
AllnetPromotion News

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