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Subject: Re: Lets be clear about Frank "complain"

Author: Robin Smith

Date: 15:49:37 06/28/02

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On June 28, 2002 at 13:57:11, Sune Fischer wrote:

>Man, it is not getting through to you, is it?
>Look here, just below:
>
>http://www.talkchess.com/forums/1/message.html?237855
>
>and here:
>http://spam.abuse.net/overview/whatisspam.shtml
>
>it is spam, get it?

The ICD e-mail does not fit the description of spam given on the site you
mention above!  Why do you provide a site link that undermines your contention
that the ICD e-mail was spam?  Did you even read it?

Here are some quotes from the site you mention:
"Spam is flooding the Internet with many copies of the same message"

ICD did not "flood the Internet", it was a message about computer chess,
targeted exclusively towards computer chess enthusiasts.  And it was sent to a
privately developed mailing list of SOME of those entusiasts.  So the ICD e-mail
fails the "flood the internet" criteria for being spam.

"Most spam is commercial advertising, often for dubious products, get-rich-quick
schemes, or quasi-legal services."

While the ICD message was commercial advertising, it matches NONE of the other
mentioned criteria such as dubious products, etc.  In fact the commercial nature
of the e-mail was the ONLY aspect that fits any parts of the description of
spam.  But please note, the site you quote does NOT say that all commercial
e-mails are spam, in fact it clearly indicates that e-mail must be more than
merely commercial to be spam.

"Spam costs the sender very little to send"

ICD spends a great deal of time and money to host this message board, hardly a
low cost endeavor, so once again the ICD e-mail does not fit the description YOU
quoted, via the above site link, as what constitutes spam.

"most of the costs are paid for by the recipient or the carriers rather than by
the sender."

All of the costs of maintaining this message board are paid by ICD.  It is a
service of immeasurable value for which they charge us nothing.  These costs to
ICD are almost certainly much higher than any costs to those being "spammed".

"There are two main types of spam, and they have different effects on Internet
users. Cancelable Usenet spam is a single message sent to 20 or more Usenet
newsgroups."

The ICD e-mail doesn't fit this "type" of spam at all.

"Email spam targets individual users with direct mail messages. Email spam lists
are often created by scanning Usenet postings, stealing Internet mailing lists,
or searching the Web for addresses."

This is tiny bit closer, but still does not match.  ICD did not scan Usenet, did
not steal mailing lists, did not search the web.  It is their own private
mailing list, which they created at great time and expense on their part, and
which is not shared with anyone else.  And if you don't want to be on this
mailing list, unsubscribe, as you can with any other respectable commercial
mailing list.

I just don't understand how you can equate an e-mail targeted directly towards a
very limited group of people that clearly have a HIGH probability of being
interested in the content of the e-mail, as being spam.  Commercial e-mail is
not == spam.  For an e-mail to be spam it generally will be (based on reading
the site link *you* provided): 1) commercial, 2) sent to a very broad
distribution at low cost to the sender and 3) unlikely to be of interest to the
vast majority of recipients.  But the commercial nature of ICD's e-mail
(criteria #1) is the ONLY thing that matches the description of spam on the site
you mentioned.

My ONLY regret with the ICD e-mail is that for me it came one day too late, as I
had just placed an order the day before.  I have a question.  Do you think that
ANY e-mail list that is for commercial purposes is automatically spam?  If not,
then what commercial e-mail lists are NOT spam?

>The rest of your mail is not worth my time...

If someone sees things differently from you, their mail is not worth your time?
What a bland world this would be if everyone agreed with everyone else.  In the
mean time, I think you should unsubscribe from ICD's e-mail list.  Personally I
plan to keep getting their "spam".  I just hope the next one they send doesn't
come one day too late.

>-S.

-R



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