# What kind of SPAM is this?? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 17, 2004, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-spam-is-this/240504 "2004-04-17T07:57:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aghris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecccb3/32.png) [@Aghris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aghris)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-spam-is-this/240504/1 "2004-04-17T07:57:56Z")
OK, for a while now I’ve been receiving all kinds of weird spam mail. Though annoying, I do understand the value of spam. These however, are mystical to me. For example: > [@](#): > > Subject: toluene muffle continued nih tollgate embargo counterattack dew whatever shakespeare stomach audience covenant slurp > > Body: shuffleboard sticky functorial solecism zombie cosy kudzu gedanken corrector fibrin morphine remote me r’s bloodshot agatha massif converse daylight algorithm drib eighty gas muscovite ingenuous panhandle bipartite penman bespoke governess ascent opel stockbroker enquire laurel quadrillion > > HKGH > > [there was a URL here] > > strengthen forgettable casket picket incorporable satellite infeasible jean marshall auk crumple birdie erosion cambric choreograph exemption mills callaghan lit bella willow WTF?? Nothing is being sold, no russian women are offered, from what I can tell I can’t add length to my penis through this. What the hell is the use for this spam? Are aliens trying to communicate with me? Am I relaying some sort of secret code messages from Osama to Saddam? I almost went and opened the URL, but I’m more sensible than that. Still, curiosity is getting the better of me… ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-spam-is-this/240504/2 "2004-04-17T08:02:24Z")
Maybe they’re trying to get you to wonder “WTF is this?” and then open it, as you were tempted to do. After opening the link, THEN the ad pitch starts. I couldn’t say for certain though, as I haven’t looked at any emails like this. ---
**Author:** ![Trillionaire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@Trillionaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trillionaire)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-spam-is-this/240504/3 "2004-04-17T11:32:11Z")
I’ve been getting the same sorts of spam, in fairly high quantities, for the past few weeks now. I’ve never opened one to see what was in the body though. I have no idea what the purpose is. My original thought was that someone is trying a variant of the “million monkeys at a million typewriters” theory. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-spam-is-this/240504/4 "2004-04-17T11:41:56Z")
The text is random rubbish to fool spam filters. The spam is aimed at those foolish enough to either have their email configured to automatically retrieve URL links, or click on it themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Brainiac4](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brainiac4/32/3534_2.png) [@Brainiac4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brainiac4)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-spam-is-this/240504/5 "2004-04-17T13:10:26Z")
The idea behind the random crap is that it defeats Bayesian spam filtering, which relies on processing the words in the email to determine the likelihood that it’s spam. And yes, this does mean that your spam filter is reading your mail. 🙂 In the short term, it’s working. That is, some spam is getting past Bayesian spam filters. However, it’s not likely to work in the long term, as there are still patterns in the random crap. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-spam-is-this/240504/6 "2004-04-17T14:53:17Z")
That’s the great thing about the Bayesian filter, I guess. For about a week, I got a wave of V 1 C 0 D 1 N!!! emails and the ones in the OP, but I kept religiously clicking Spam. Now, they’re all routed to my spam folder. It’s the desperate thrashing of spammers trying to get through all the new filters. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-spam-is-this/240504/7 "2004-04-17T17:32:03Z")
I use Netscape mail which has a message filter you configure. I put the url in the body of the message as the flag to delete. I still get some spam, but not the dozens I used to. ---
**Author:** ![Trillionaire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@Trillionaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trillionaire)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-spam-is-this/240504/8 "2004-04-17T22:49:00Z")
[This thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=251499) is currently dealing with the same topic. ---
**Author:** ![Trillionaire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@Trillionaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trillionaire)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2004, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-spam-is-this/240504/9 "2004-04-17T22:51:18Z")
> [@Trillionaire](#): > > [This thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=251499) is currently dealing with the same topic. I just realised you started that thread too.