I've place the above banner on all of my pages to spread the word that there's only one effective way of stopping the spam (unrequested email
offering product and/or services) that doesn't require legislation of any kind:
delete it without taking any other action!
The only reason spam exists is because people respond to it by buying
products/services offered. If no one bought, the senders would stop
sending and it would end.
Don't click. Clicking on a link sends a response to the spammer
that you've read the message, and he/she will be paid by the merchant of the
product/service for that. No click = no pay.
Don't unsubscribe. "Unsubscribing" may or may not remove you
from the spammer's mailing list, but proves that your email address is valid.
Even if your name is removed from that mailing list, it can be sold to someone
else as a valid address and you'll get spam from another source.
Don't buy products. Even if the product sounds interesting to
you, don't respond the the spam. Find the product/service through
another source (such as a search engine) so your inquiry can't be traced back
to the spam.
Just delete. Delete it and the spammer will be none the wiser
whether the spam was read or not, but no sale will result. Unprofitable
result for the spammer, and a small step on the way to spam-free email.
Also: set your email program so it doesn't
display images except on command. Image links in emails can be traced to your email address,
so the spammer will know if you've seen the message. If you see the text
but not the image, the spammer won't know that the spam has been viewed, thus
worthless to him/her.
autoreply to messages. If you autoreply (such as a
"on-vacation " message) you're letting spammers know your address is valid.
let recipients know that you've read their mail. If your
email program supports this function, disable it.
By everyone following these simple and cost-free procedures, eventually spam
will diminish and hopefully end.
Stop Spam by Deleting It!
Updated 02 December, 2005
