# Another pointless rant - How thick can spammers get? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 30, 2003, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-pointless-rant-how-thick-can-spammers-get/216067 "2003-11-30T15:43:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-pointless-rant-how-thick-can-spammers-get/216067/1 "2003-11-30T15:43:29Z")
It just baffles me! Surely if they want to sell their product they’d get someone with at least 3 braincells to produce the spam. Putting ‘re:’ before the subject instantly tells me to look and see if it’s something I sent in the first place. you see, if I sent someone an e-mail, and they replied to it, the e-mail client would put ‘re:’ before the subject. So when I see a message with ‘re: that thing you asked for’ I know it’s SPAM because I never sent anyone anything with the subject ‘that thing you asked for’ :rolleyes: Maybe there’s a good reason for it (unlikely) but I maintain that spammers are the stupidest people on earth. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-pointless-rant-how-thick-can-spammers-get/216067/2 "2003-11-30T15:45:36Z")
Oh, I love the ones that put spaces or punctuation in the subject line to get it around spam filters. If I ever need my “pe.n.i.s. e/n1argened”, I’ll let you know. Tripler Friggin’ spam. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-pointless-rant-how-thick-can-spammers-get/216067/3 "2003-11-30T19:52:23Z")
I assume they’re targetting people who send anough emails that they’re not sure if they sent one ensubjected “that thing that you asked for.” If it’s a plausible title I’m sure they’ll get some nibbles. I don’t disagree that spammers seem remarkably stupid, but I’m not sure this is their worst offense. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-pointless-rant-how-thick-can-spammers-get/216067/4 "2003-11-30T20:00:35Z")
Spammers are dumb, but the general population is even dumber. ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-pointless-rant-how-thick-can-spammers-get/216067/5 "2003-11-30T20:10:44Z")
Yahoo’s damned good at spam-blocking. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-pointless-rant-how-thick-can-spammers-get/216067/6 "2003-11-30T20:31:44Z")
Mandatory plug: POPFile. It’s running at 99.53% accuracy for me. As for the stupidity of spammers… yeah, they’re dumb. Their victims are dumber. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-pointless-rant-how-thick-can-spammers-get/216067/7 "2003-11-30T20:40:16Z")
I hope you don’t mean those victims who have had an e-mail account since WAY before spam was a problem and who still recieve the odd useful e-mail in that account and who are fully aware of the idea of using more than one e-mail address and who don’t want to download a spam filter or who can’t because they sometimes read their mail at work. ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-pointless-rant-how-thick-can-spammers-get/216067/8 "2003-11-30T20:46:25Z")
He means victims as in “people who buy shit from spammers.” ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-pointless-rant-how-thick-can-spammers-get/216067/9 "2003-11-30T20:51:44Z")
Oh, in that case I let him off. ---
**Author:** ![RobbieFal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c5a1d2/32.png) [@RobbieFal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobbieFal)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-pointless-rant-how-thick-can-spammers-get/216067/10 "2003-11-30T20:55:07Z")
Spammers are stupid, Senators are dumber. (Let me note that the ‘Do not Spam’ list is just a meaningless piece of Government posing. Yeah, we’ll give you a list of e-mails NOT to e-mail.) Still… Spammers are quite dumb. ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheValley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-pointless-rant-how-thick-can-spammers-get/216067/11 "2003-11-30T21:15:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lobsang \* > \*\* > Putting ‘re:’ before the subject instantly tells me to look and see if it’s something I sent in the first place. you see, if I sent someone an e-mail, and they replied to it, the e-mail client would put ‘re:’ before the subject. So when I see a message with ‘re: that thing you asked for’ I know it’s SPAM because I never sent anyone anything with the subject ‘that thing you asked for’ \*\* AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!! **Lobsang** , you have far too much faith in the email literacy of people. I have received countless emails from people that begin “re:”. Since I recognize the names, I think, “Hey, I can’t remember sending him/her an email about that!” When I read them, it turns out that it is a brand-new email. These people apparently believe that the word “Subject:” is not enough to identify that the next words will represent the topic of the email, and they drive me batty. It’s particularly annoying when they post like this on group lists at which it is very possible that I missed the original email, as posted by someone else. ---
**Author:** ![SkyBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@SkyBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkyBum)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-pointless-rant-how-thick-can-spammers-get/216067/12 "2003-11-30T21:21:01Z")
How many spams would a woodchuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck spam? Tired of living in that hole of a house? Re: That hole you dug LOOSE WEIGHT WHILE YOU HIBERNATE Re:f.i.n.a.n.c.e y-o-u-r b/u/r/r/o/w 4.5%!!! LOW LOW Hi. Let’s sleep together this winter! DUDE! Dread the day when furry rodents gain e-mail access. Oh wait… ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-pointless-rant-how-thick-can-spammers-get/216067/13 "2003-12-01T03:42:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shade \* > \*\*I assume they’re targetting people who send anough emails that they’re not sure if they sent one ensubjected “that thing that you asked for.” If it’s a plausible title I’m sure they’ll get some nibbles. I don’t disagree that spammers seem remarkably stupid, but I’m not sure this is their worst offense. \*\* And damn the jerks, it works. I teach classes, and give my students the option of emailing me their homework. sometimes they forget to put anything in the subject heading, or, they’ll put something odd in the subject line, so if an email is in the least iffy, I need to look at it. Grrrrrrr. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-pointless-rant-how-thick-can-spammers-get/216067/14 "2003-12-01T03:48:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joe K \* > \*\*Yahoo’s damned good at spam-blocking. \*\* You’re kidding, right? The service that takes my spam and throws it into a “Bulk Mail” folder, which fills up in about 10 minutes, thus preventing me from receiving real mail? They don’t block diddley! [sub]then again, if they do block it… that would mean I’m getting a zillion pieces o’ spam…[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-pointless-rant-how-thick-can-spammers-get/216067/15 "2003-12-01T04:04:09Z")
I’ll admit it puts me off a bit when I get an email from my sister or my wife’s aunt … or so I think… until I notice the subject line reads something like SJUEWOOEIR or ;;’;’)))) or SPLIT HER OPEN WITH YOUR FAT POLE… …and I realize that this ain’t FROM my sister or my wife’s aunt… just someone using that NAME… ---
**Author:** ![SanguineSpider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SanguineSpider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanguineSpider)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-pointless-rant-how-thick-can-spammers-get/216067/16 "2003-12-01T04:50:30Z")
spamspamspamspamspamspamspamspam! ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-pointless-rant-how-thick-can-spammers-get/216067/17 "2003-12-01T05:09:56Z")
> [@](#): > > Yahoo’s damned good at spam-blocking. That why I have to empty my email every few days to prevent the inbox from overflowing. Yahoo was even kind of enough to create a “bulk mail” folder for all the spam they pretty obviously directed my way. How do you think they help finance their mail servers in the first place? My favorite is the spam offering you solutions to spam. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@Sam\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_H)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-pointless-rant-how-thick-can-spammers-get/216067/18 "2003-12-01T06:37:34Z")
Thanks to the spammers I have apparently accidently deleted a very important email while cleaning out my main address. My only hope is that I think I sent a copy of the email to my friend. I’m going to call him tomorrow and pray he didn’t delete it as well. If he did I will have a huge mess on my hands that’s going to take me several hours to sort out. Damn them to hell! May a thousand car alarms ring under their bedroom windows twenty fours hours a day! ---
**Author:** ![butter\_pie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aca169/32.png) [@butter\_pie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butter_pie)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-pointless-rant-how-thick-can-spammers-get/216067/19 "2003-12-01T06:52:28Z")
What I don’t understand is that they know no one wants to see their garbage, they spell it out elborate ways to get past filters, and yet some people are still dumb enough to buy this stuff to justify even sending it to begin with… ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-pointless-rant-how-thick-can-spammers-get/216067/20 "2003-12-01T10:54:48Z")
As awful as spam is, it’s still not as bad (to me) as regular ol’ junk mail. I can delete spam. I can even set up rules or filters to prevent some of it from getting in. I can’t do that with junk mail as it fills up my tiny mailbox. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-pointless-rant-how-thick-can-spammers-get/216067.md?page=2)