Unsolicited commercial email (was [ILUG] Europe chickens out of

[Wynne, Conor]

To download spam - they are always text - takes so little time that I never
notice until I reach that mail in the inbox. 

So I still don't understand what the big deal is. I am a member of loads of
newsgroups so I receive quite a lot of mail, usually about 50 a day, on my
home account. 50 mails usually takes about what 4 minutes max - actually I
have never timed it. Then I disconnect or download a file but I usually just
go online for a specific reason. Like how-to breed some fish or other. 

Spam never has been and never will be a worry for me. But hey I only get 5
MAX a day, usually about 1 though and somedays none at all. Someone told me
they get about 1000 a week, bit extreme but well possible I suppose. That
WOULD be annoying, but I would setup a filter rule if that was the case.
Anyway, I usually block these problems - see webmail addresses... 

Just be carefull what you put your mail address to and you won't have hasle.
I have been using the same addresses for years now but I don't give them to
any sites unless I actually WANT the spam. Use billg at microsoft.com :)

For the moment I have no problems with SPAM. Just traffic jams! 

p.s.: I was on to the department of the environment with these
(traffic/safety) issues - yesterday - and they will be acting on my
suggestions - Cool. Ireland rocks. 

Later Guys,
CW

-----------------------
Conor,
	The problem with spam is a simple one ... it costs the receiver
money, not the sender ...
Scenario 1:
	Junkmail in the mailbox at home ... no problem, toss it out, it cost
the sender a small fortune to get their 10,000 flyers done up and sent out
to your door, by real people, earning real money  ... Company sending pays
those costs not the householder

Scenario 2:
	I log on from home, dial up to my ISP (paying both the ISP and
Eircom money for each second I spend online ... ISP is a fixed cost, but the
phone bill isn't). I have a number of new emails, which I download ... of
the seven emails, taking half an hour to download, one is useful (and only a
short message), the other six are SPAM, with html embedded, linking back to
sites, downloading graphics and loads of other junk to my mailbox.
	Because I use a POP account I can't delete it before I download it
(not strictly true, but in most cases), so I have to wait and pay for this
form of Junkmail ...
It costs the sender nothing more to send it than it costs me to get it, but
he's after sending it to 20,000 others as well ... so 20,000 times 10p is
about £2,000 ... which is easily what spam is costing Joe Public on an
hourly basis ... probably more ..