# Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 26, 2003, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-spam-spam-spam-spam-spam/215311 "2003-11-26T03:08:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-spam-spam-spam-spam-spam/215311/21 "2003-11-26T07:57:07Z")
“Blonktonky”? ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-spam-spam-spam-spam-spam/215311/22 "2003-11-26T11:07:56Z")
Of course. “Tonky” for the pet name your girlfriend will use for your penis, subsequent to your purchase of such astounding never-before-seen goods, and “Blonk” for the, um … um … Um. Would you believe “short for blonkwurst”? oh hey, [here](http://www.mail-archive.com/struts-user@jakarta.apache.org/msg85789.html)’s someone with the same question… ---
**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:** [November 26, 2003, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-spam-spam-spam-spam-spam/215311/23 "2003-11-26T11:36:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NBIT33 \* > \*\*People - DON’T USE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN PUBLIC. > > DUH! > \*\* Heh. You mean like you? Are you aware that your own e-mail address is in your profile? Anyone reading this thread could find it. (You can hide it by going to your Control Panel.) ---
**Author:** ![NBIT33](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NBIT33](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NBIT33)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-spam-spam-spam-spam-spam/215311/24 "2003-11-26T11:50:04Z")
$100 says it’s not my “real” e-mail, DantheMan ---
**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:** [November 26, 2003, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-spam-spam-spam-spam-spam/215311/25 "2003-11-26T12:44:32Z")
I hope it is, because IIRC you’re required to have a valid email address to be a member here so that the moderators and administrators can contact you. (You don’t need to display it publicly, but you do need to have one.) ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-spam-spam-spam-spam-spam/215311/26 "2003-11-26T13:22:56Z")
Spam is a thoroughgoing annoyance, but you gotta love some of the randomly-generated subject lines! Re: CFPCTZ, the interpreter explained Re: PQPMRQ, hate everybody around Re: EPB, the man climbing This is almost a message rz . . . and my favorite . . . Re: ANQ, the misanthropic doorman (Carlton’s evil twin, obviously!) ---
**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:** [November 26, 2003, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-spam-spam-spam-spam-spam/215311/27 "2003-11-26T13:25:04Z")
I like those, **Neidhart**. I get them a lot, too. Another sure-fire sign that it’s spam is the appearance of part or all of my email address in the subject line. Email coming from a reputable source wouldn’t do this. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-spam-spam-spam-spam-spam/215311/28 "2003-11-26T13:50:24Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by dantheman_ > **I hope it is, because IIRC you’re required to have a valid email address to be a member here so that the moderators and administrators can contact you. (You don’t need to display it publicly, but you do need to have one.)** I think by saying it’s not his “real” address, he means that it’s not his primary address. I have an address that I use for public postings and stuff like Neopets that are really neat but are going to spam you. It’s not my “real” address, but a mail from someone such as the SDMD admins would get through and get read by me. ---
**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:** [November 26, 2003, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-spam-spam-spam-spam-spam/215311/29 "2003-11-26T13:54:28Z")
But whether it’s a primary or not, it’s still an email address that must be maintained. Hotmail and Yahoo mailboxes, while free, can fill up very quickly if one disregards them. In fact, Hotmail and Yahoo mailboxes are the most susceptible (to spam) email addresses out there, save AOL. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-spam-spam-spam-spam-spam/215311/30 "2003-11-26T14:24:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Stoneburg \* > \*\* I don’t use viagra, haven’t had my penis enlarged and don’t pay for porn… \*\* But did you know that mortgage rates are at an all-time low? ---
**Author:** ![tritone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8e7dd6/32.png) [@tritone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tritone)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2003, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-spam-spam-spam-spam-spam/215311/31 "2003-11-26T14:44:17Z")
Alas, I’ve had the same hotmail address for four glorious, spam-free years. I’ve thrown it around with reckless abandon (I signed up for the account so that I would have an address to leave on websites) and never had a single spam. Possibly something to do with an unusual username. A couple of weeks ago, though, they found me. I’m getting 3-4 spam messages/day now, but it’s only a matter of time… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-spam-spam-spam-spam-spam/215311/32 "2003-11-27T01:42:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BubbaDog \* > \*\*But did you know that mortgage rates are at an all-time low? \*\* Yes. My spam problem started with home mortgagers. However, since they don’t send nearly as much e-mail as the mediciners, I don’t have as large a vendetta against them. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-spam-spam-spam-spam-spam/215311/33 "2003-11-27T03:12:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Boo Boo Foo \* > \*\*…I’d build a special “email header” interrogating algorithm which analyses the true IP address and machine name and URL Domain Name and then I’d cross reference that with my “master lists of known spammers”. > > I’m tipping that if my “master lists” were available world over, you’d be able to build a known list of every machine name, IP address, and URL name of every fucking spammer asshole in the world in less than a month. And then you could filter them from global email traffic…\*\* That’s pretty much the idea behind [Brightmail](http://www.brightmail.com) and services like them. They claim to have thousands of dummy e-mail accounts out there being promiscuous, begging for spam, and then forwarding it on to their data centers where they craft rules and broadcast them to subscribers. [Here’s an article about them.](http://www.isp-planet.com/technology/2002/brightmail.html) > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Fuji Kitakyusho_ > **Try POPFile.** I’m working on it right now. This one’s a “Bayesian filter,” so you need to teach it what’s spam and what’s not. My problem is that I’m getting 70 spams a day and I only get three or four good e-mails per week on my home address. I’ve taught it pretty well how to recognize spam, but now it’s throwing _everything_ out for lack of learning material for _good_ messages. > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by NBIT33_ > **People - DON’T USE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS IN PUBLIC.** One really cool tool I was turned on to recently: Mailinator. Whenever you need a throwaway e-mail account in order to register at some site and get an access code, just give them any random name + “@mailinator.com” You can then go to Mailinator’s site and pick up messages for that name. For example, on some site’s registration-page-from-hell, you provide “[butthead@mailinator.com](mailto:butthead@mailinator.com)” Later on, you go to Mailinator, type in “butthead” and collect any messages that were sent there. No signup needed. That’s cool. ---
**Author:** ![cheddarsnax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@cheddarsnax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cheddarsnax)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-spam-spam-spam-spam-spam/215311/34 "2003-11-27T03:55:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Governor Quinn \* > **(I don’t need Xanex, who told you that I did?)** It was me. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-spam-spam-spam-spam-spam/215311/35 "2003-11-27T03:59:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tritone \* > **I’m getting 3-4 spam messages/day now, but it’s only a matter of time…** Wow, I must be getting 30 or 40 a day. Of course, I’m notorious for my shriveled penis, indebtedness, high mortgage payments, bestiality fetish, and inability to perform without pharmaceutical assistance. I’m a spammer’s dream. ---
**Author:** ![bobinheber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85e7bf/32.png) [@bobinheber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobinheber)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-spam-spam-spam-spam-spam/215311/36 "2003-11-27T04:51:52Z")
I’ve been using SpamCop ( [http://www.spamcop.net](http://www.spamcop.net) ) for more than a year. I’ve had my Yahoo account for almost 6 years, and now have it forwarded to spamcop For $30 per year, they take all of your spam, put it in a “Held Mail” folder, and with one click (by me), they send letters to the ISP’s advising them that one of their subscribers is sendiung out spam. Sure, occaisonal spam gets through, but now that I’m getting upwards of 50 to 75 Spams a day, it sure makes it easy to get rid of it and at the same time just may slow some of the bastards down. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-spam-spam-spam-spam-spam/215311/37 "2003-11-27T14:15:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Governor Quinn \* > \*\*Yes. My spam problem started with home mortgagers. However, since they don’t send nearly as much e-mail as the mediciners, I don’t have as large a vendetta against them. \*\* That’s odd. I get twice as many mortgage spams as I do penis enlargement ads. Word musta got around that I don’t **need** a bigger one. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-spam-spam-spam-spam-spam/215311/38 "2003-11-27T14:41:13Z")
And, for some reason, I’ve yet to get a penis enlargement ad. Then again, I’ve also never received porn, Russian mail-order brides, or Nigirian scam offers. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-spam-spam-spam-spam-spam/215311/39 "2003-11-27T21:17:18Z")
[Monty Python] Eww! What do you mean “eww”? I don’t like spam! [/MP] ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2003, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-spam-spam-spam-spam-spam/215311/40 "2003-11-27T21:45:06Z")
I keep getting porn spam about Paris Hilton. I didn’t even know who Paris Hilton was until the so-called scandal broke a couple of weeks ago, now they all think I want to see this complete stranger having sex. The annoying thing is, if you were to finally kowtow to the spam and actually utilise it, it’s not like it will go away afterward. It’ll just increase. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-spam-spam-spam-spam-spam/215311.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spam-spam-spam-spam-spam-spam/215311.md?page=3)