Ok, spammers are lowlife lying scumbag thieves. That much is a given, and it’s not exactly news. So why am I upset? Well, because a spam got through my filters. And not just any spam, but a spam advocating a cause I support – helping the UCC get their commercial on the air in spite of anti-gay backlash from CBS and NBC. And to make it worse, it went to one of my role accounts, not my normal account. I occassionally post to usenet with this role account, but almost always just to groups that are local to that role, although sometimes I use it to post to other newsgroups in the region or to the news.admin groups. I never have, and I never will, use this email address to sign up for newsletter or ask for information – that would kill the very reason for having role account.
I immediately fired off a complaint, pointing out that before I got the spam I was supporting the cause, but now that they’ve descended to spam I wasn’t. No response, except a few days later I got another spam. This time I said what I really thought.
What followed was the usual dance of denials, lies, evasions, and general scumbaggery that anybody who has talked to a spammer is all too familiar with.
Some highlights:
If your name wound up on our list without your consent it was assuredly not due to anything intentional, such as harvesting.
Bullshit.
And by the way, a courteous note would have done just as well.
My experience suggests not.
So why am I upset? It’s just business as usual for a spammer, right? Well, except this one professes to be a non-demoninational religious organization, and I sort of expect them to have a moral code. I’m naive that way.