BS: What spam are you getting lately?

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: GUEST,c.g.
Date: 09 Jul 11 - 07:35 PM

Telemarketer: Can I speak to the person who pays the phone bill?
Me: I'm afraid we haven't got a phone.
Long silence
Telemarketer: Then how are you speaking to me?
Me: Extra sensory perception.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: gnu
Date: 09 Jul 11 - 06:27 PM

Here's an e I got today re spam...

E-Mail Tracker Programs -- very interesting and a must read!


The man that sent this information is a computer tech. He spends a lot of time clearing the junk off computers for people and listens to complaints about speed. All forwards are not bad, just some. Be sure you read the very last paragraph. _________________________________________

He wrote:

By now, I suspect everyone is familiar with snopes.com and/or truthorfiction.com for determining whether information received via email is just that: true/false or fact/fiction. Both are excellent sites.


Advice from snopes.com   VERY IMPORTANT!!

1) Any time you see an email that says "forward this on to '10' (or however many) of your friends", "sign this petition", or "you'll get bad luck" or "you'll get good luck" or "you'll see something funny on your screen after you send it" or whatever --- it almost always has an email tracker program attached that tracks the cookies and emails of those folks you forward to. The host sender is getting a copy each time it gets forwarded and then is able to get lists of 'active' email addresses to use in SPAM emails or sell to other spammers. Even when you get emails that demand you send the email on if you're not ashamed of God/Jesus --- that is email tracking, and they are playing on our conscience. These people don't care how they get your email addresses - just as long as they get them. Also, emails that talk about a missing child or a child with an incurable disease "how would you feel if that was your child" --- email tracking. Ignore them and don't participate!

2) Almost all emails that ask you to add your name and forward on to others are similar to that mass letter years ago that asked people to send business cards to the little kid in Florida who wanted to break the Guinness Book of Records for the most cards. All it was, and all any of this type of email is, is a way to get names and 'cookie' tracking information for telemarketers and spammers -- to validate active email accounts for their own profitable purposes.

You can do your Friends and Family members a GREAT favor by sending this information to them. You will be providing a service to your friends. And you will be rewarded by not getting thousands of spam emails in the future!
Do yourself a favor and STOP adding your name(s) to those types of listing regardless how inviting they might sound! Or make you feel guilty if you don't! It's all about getting email addresses and nothing more.

You may think you are supporting a GREAT cause, but you are NOT!

Instead, you will be getting tons of junk mail later and very possibly a virus attached! Plus, we are helping the spammers get rich! Let's not make it easy for them!

ALSO: Email petitions are NOT acceptable to Congress of any other organization - i.e. social security, etc. To be acceptable, petitions must have a "signed signature" and full address of the person signing the petition, so this is a waste of time and you are just helping the email trackers.







Tips for Handling Telemarketers

Three Little Words That Work!!

(1)The three little words are: 'Hold On, Please...'

Saying this, while putting down your phone and walking off (instead of hanging-up immediately) would make each telemarketing call so much more time-consuming that boiler room sales would grind to a halt.

Then when you eventually hear the phone company's 'beep-beep-beep' tone, you know it's time to go back and hang up your handset, which has efficiently completed its task.

These three little words will help eliminate telephone soliciting..

(2) Do you ever get those annoying phone calls with no one on the other end?

This is a telemarketing technique where a machine makes phone calls and records the time of day when a person answers the phone.

This technique is used to determine the best time of day for a 'real' sales person to call back and get someone at home.

What you can do after answering, if you notice there is no one there, is to immediately start hitting your # button on the phone, 6 or 7 times as quickly as possible. This confuses the machine that dialed the call, and it kicks your number out of their system.. Gosh, what a shame not to have your name in their system any longer!!!

(3) Junk Mail Help:
When you get 'ads' enclosed with your phone or utility bill, return these 'ads' with your payment. Let the sending companies throw their own junk mail away.

When you get those 'pre-approved' letters in the mail for everything from credit cards to 2nd mortgages and similar type junk, do not throw away the return envelope.

Most of these come with postage-paid return envelopes, right? It costs them more than the regular 44 cents postage, 'IF' and when they receive them back.

It costs them nothing if you throw them away! The postage was around 50 cents before the last increase and it is according to the weight. In that case, why not get rid of some of your other junk mail and put it in these cool little, postage-paid return envelopes.

One of Andy Rooney 's (60 minutes) ideas.

Send an ad for your local chimney cleaner to American Express. Send a pizza coupon to Citibank. If you didn't get anything else that day, then just send them their blank application back!

If you want to remain anonymous, just make sure your name isn't on anything you send them.

You can even send the envelope back empty if you want to just to keep them guessing! It still costs them 44 cents.

The banks and credit card companies are currently getting a lot of their own junk back in the mail, but folks, we need to OVERWHELM them. Let's let them know what it's like to get lots of junk mail, and best of all they're paying for it...Twice!

Let's help keep our postal service busy since they are saying that e-mail is cutting into their business profits, and that's why they need to increase postage costs again. You get the idea!

If enough people follow these tips, it will work I have been doing this for years, and I get very little junk mail anymore.

THIS JUST MIGHT BE ONE E-MAIL THAT YOU WILL WANT TO FORWARD TO YOUR FRIENDS

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: GUEST,Lauri Jane
Date: 09 Jul 11 - 02:25 PM

Dear Customer,


You Have One New Message

You have a new message in online banking.
Subject: Check on hold.
You have receive a check with a possible error in writing,
for more security verify before you cashing the check the data.

Please click on the following link to to view a copy of the check.
9273528883bb4
If we do not hear from you within the next 3 working days, we will assume that you no longer require this payment.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Sawzaw
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 11:21 PM

D.C. Online Gambling Law Passes Congressional Waiting Period

Get ready to gamble, D.C.: a measure allowing the D.C. Lottery to administer online "games of skill and games of chance" -- passed by the D.C. Council as part of an adjustment to the fiscal year 2011 budget in December -- has now officially made it through the 30-day Congressional review period and will soon be placed on the books.

As we first reported on Sunday, the law will make D.C. the first American jurisdiction to legalize internet gaming. (Take that, New Jersey and Nevada!) All terrible political jokes aside, no one's really quite sure yet what form the online gaming will take -- it could conceivably run the gamut from online poker to sports betting. Mayor Vince Gray told the AP earlier this week that the gambling "would become a part of our lottery program," but Gray declined to provide any specifics during his weekly press conference this morning. While a spokesperson for D.C. Lottery told the Examiner that no specifics were available and that implementation is "in the early stages of planning," the Wall Street Journal has reported that the Lottery is eyeing "certain select spots, such as hotels" for a test gaming machine to be conducted "by the end of the year."

Whatever form it takes, the District is hoping that the law will enable the city to pull in about $13 million in revenue over the next three fiscal years. Intralot, who currently holds the contract to operate the Lottery on the city's behalf, will be in charge of managing the games. Only D.C. residents would legally be allowed to participate.

Of course, even though Congress didn't explicitly stamp out the legislation as some predicted, perhaps it didn't feel like it had to -- federal law still technically prohibits online gambling. Just don't plan on accessing the city's online poker site on National Park Service property, I suppose.

---

Mayor Vince Gray [Democrat] is currently on Newstalk with Bruce DePuyt for an hour-long interview. The first set of questions from DePuyt had to do Gray's role last December in passing legislation that will make the District the first jurisdiction in the country to offer online gambling. The gambling law, which you all know, is very much in the news as its possible September implementation date draws closer and people are wondering if their public libraries will turn into virtual Vegases.

Most of the criticism about the online gambling law is that it was tacked onto a budget bill and the public never got a chance to weigh in on the idea. But Gray, who was in his last days as chairman when the council approved the legislation, told DePuyt that the gambling plan "was very much at the forefront" and received the "appropriate" amount of scrutiny before being passed. Gray also noted that Congress had plenty of time to weigh in on the District's plan, which was proposed by Councilmember Michael Brown [Independent].

District of Columbia Attorney General Irvin Nathan [Democrat] has declared that DC's groundbreaking plan to offer intrastate online gambling to District residents does not fall afoul of federal laws. Nathan made the statement Wednesday at a public hearing held by DC Council's Committee on Finance and Revenue. DC Lottery, which will offer the service via an Intralot-powered network, plans to launch play-money 'demonstration games' in July followed by real-money play on Sept. 8.

When the D.C. Council approved the city's lottery contract in December, two members spoke before the vote on behalf of the local firm that walked away with a majority stake in the deal: Chairman Vincent C. Gray [D] and Marion Barry [D]

It was revealed that Council member Michael A. Brown, [I] the man who introduced DC's gambling legislation last December (by attaching it to the District's budget late in the day with no public debate), received campaign contributions from a company related to Intralot on March 10 of this year. The Friends of Michael Brown campaign committee received five $1k checks/money orders from Veteran Services Corporation (VSC) and several of its employees and family members. VSC is Intralot's local partner in the DC online gambling operation, holding a 51% stake in the venture. Asked by WAMU-FM whether VSC stood to gain from the gambling plan going forward, Brown said So does every developer who does a deal with the city It's all legal and that's the world we live in.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Donuel
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 09:57 PM

Re: internet gambling


You know its illegal in the US to gamble on internet casinos.

HOWEVER Washington DC will be the first US city to legalize internet gambling because someone snuck the legalizing gambling bill into the budget in the dead of night, the same way republicans have done to DC in the past to nullufy local elections and laws that DC has passed ( the medical mariquana law for example )

Beginning this October DC global internet gambling is legal.
Not that lots of people don't do it anyway.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 07:44 PM

My spam of the month seems to be offers from gambling sites. Dunno how I got picked for that.
There is a casino on the reservation a few blocks from me. I have used my credit card for a meal there, and that's the only gambling connection I have had.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 07:37 PM

I haven't had many of the bank detail ones since I gave a spammer the sort code and account number for an HSBC account which I had just closed out, and then phoned both the bank and the police to alert them.

I have no idea what the result was, but since then those E-Mails have virtually disappeared from my PC.

It kind of suggests how tight knit this bunch are:- "Leave him alone guys, he's nasty".

I'd like to think they tried to access the account.

A brown trouser moment for the scammers, if the bank and Old Bill used the intel efficiently.

Don T.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Crowhugger
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 01:10 PM

Wow! Someone admitting to eating the stuff and liking it, cool! And fwiw some of us do call the electronic spam "crap", though I guess more often I call it junk mail, having no need to differentiate between 3D and electronic unsolicited crap.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Brian May
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 11:16 AM

What a sad name electronic Spam has.

I love Spam the 'meat' I have it in sandwiches about 4-5 times a month.

Why isn't electronic 'spam' call 'crap'?

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: olddude
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 10:04 AM

Yup me to, including PM's from fake catters ...
The last email spam was how to increase my bra size two cups ...

Now why would I want to do that ..?

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 09:39 AM

Is it spam if you get personal messages in mudcat from someone who is using a real mudcatter's ID?

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 08:23 AM

Well it's spasmodic. I don't get any for weeks, and then I get a load. Today for instance I have received about 8 so far, all offering meds of some sort.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 08:12 AM

Still get lots of stuff for Viagra.
What puzzles me is.....how do they know??    :-) :-)

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Arthur_itus
Date: 08 Jul 11 - 07:26 AM

Non with my current ISP, but my old ISP is palgued with spam. You get what you pay for.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: DougR
Date: 02 Apr 06 - 07:55 PM

Little Hawk: I don't know if this applies to Canada, but in the U. S. there is a website that you can go to that allows one to request financial institutions offering preapproved credit cards to take you off the list for five years. Wish I could remember the website address but you might Google your Credit Reporting services up there and find out how to do it. I took my wife and I off the list a few weeks ago and such solicitations have stopped.

DougR

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: GUEST,Bzz
Date: 02 Apr 06 - 02:14 PM

Hi.
I have a msn email address with 500 emails in it.
THe day i added them all, i started getting spam. Why? These people are infected and are owning zombie computers.
Daily, I get around 10 Spam messages, saying that i've got to renew my Chase.Com account, I don't even kow what it is. It comes with Viagra and Live-Forever treatments. ;))))))
Only a DUMB person would get tempted into any of this bullshit.
Paypal, eBay, Chase, Western Union... I replied lots of times saying that i'm not a noob and you have no way of fooling me but still keep on getting the spam.
One day on eBay I saw a person selling 1 Billion E-Mail addresses. Sounds like a majority of people using web, doesn't it?
====
Subject: Re: Question for item #5881162745 - One BILLION OptIn Email Addresses List Online Marketing
----
Item: One BILLION OptIn Email Addresses List Online Marketing (5881162745)
This message was sent while the listing was active.
final-dimension is the seller.
---------------------------------------
They are all OPT-IN email addresses meaning they have signed up to get emails.

thank you.

======================================================================

^^ ALL 1,000,000,000???? WOULD SOMEONE BE A NOOB ENOUGH NOT TO LEARN TO GIVE THEIR EMAIL ADRESS TO SOMEBODY?

And, if someone is wondering - I am happy to ive that seller's E-Mail address, be rude to them: [e-mail]



Thank You!!

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Scoville
Date: 29 Mar 06 - 04:55 PM

I get SPAM on one of my Yahoo accounts but not the others (I have three for various past-times). I don't get any from Gmail. I had Lycos briefly and it was TERRIBLE, and then they took away my SPAM block button because they thought they could do it well enough by themselves, and I was forced to write them a nasty email and then abandon the account.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Long Firm Freddie
Date: 29 Mar 06 - 03:40 PM

Or:

The Monty Python Spaw Sketch
Scene: A cafe. One table is occupied by a group of Vikings.
A husband and wife enter.
Man (Eric Idle): You sit here, dear.
Wife (Graham Chapman in drag): All right.
Man (to Waitress): Morning!
Waitress (Terry Jones, in drag): Morning!
Husband: Well, what've you got?
Waitress: Well, there's egg and bacon; egg, sausage, and bacon; egg and spaw; egg, bacon, and spaw; egg, bacon, sausage, and spaw; spaw, bacon, sausage, and spaw; spaw, egg, spaw, spaw, bacon, and spaw; spaw, sausage, spaw, spaw, bacon, spaw, tomato, and spaw;
Vikings (starting to chant): Spaw spaw spaw spaw...
Waitress: ...spaw, spaw, spaw, egg, and spaw; spaw, spaw, spaw, spaw, spaw, spaw, baked beans, spaw, spaw, spaw...
Vikings (singing): Spaw! Lovely spaw! Lovely spaw!
Waitress: ...or Lobster Thermidor a Crevette with a mornay sauce served in a Provencale manner with shallots and aubergines garnished with truffle pate, brandy and with a fried egg on top and spaw.
Wife: Have you got anything without spaw?
Waitress: Well, there's spaw, egg, sausage, and spaw, that's not got much spaw in it.
Wife: I don't want ANY spaw!
Husband: Why can't she have egg, bacon, spaw, and sausage?
Wife: THAT'S got spaw in it!
Husband: Hasn't got as much spaw in it as spaw, egg, sausage, and spaw, has it?
Vikings: Spaw spaw spaw spaw (crescendo through next few lines)
Wife: Could you do the egg bacon spaw and sausage without the spaw then?
Waitress: Urgghh!
Wife: What do you mean 'Urgghh'? I don't like spaw!
Vikings: Lovely spaw! Wonderful spaw!)
Waitress: Shut up!
Vikings: Lovely spaw! Wonderful spaw!
Waitress: Shut up! (Vikings stop) Bloody Vikings! You can't have egg, bacon, spaw, and sausage without the spaw.
Wife (shrieks): I don't like spaw!
Husband: Sshh, dear, don't cause a fuss. I'll have your spaw. I love it. I'm having spaw, spaw, spaw, spaw, spaw, spaw, spaw, beaked beans, spaw, spaw, spaw, and spaw!
Vikings (singing): Spaw, spaw, spaw, spaw. Lovely spaw! Wonderful spaw!
Waitress: Shut up!! Baked beans are off.
Husband: Well could I have her spaw instead of the baked beans then?
Waitress: You mean spaw, spaw, spaw, spaw, spaw, spaw... (but it is too late and the Vikings drown her words)
Vikings (singing elaborately): Spaw spaw spaw spaw. Lovely spaw! Wonderful spaw! Spaw spa-a-a-aw spaw spa-a-a-aw spaw. Lovely spaw! Lovely spaw! Lovely spaw! Lovely spaw! Lovely spaw! Spaw spaw spaw spaw!

LFF

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Long Firm Freddie
Date: 29 Mar 06 - 03:37 PM

Here we go:

The Monty Python Spam Sketch

Scene: A cafe. One table is occupied by a group of Vikings.

A husband and wife enter.

Man (Eric Idle): You sit here, dear.
Wife (Graham Chapman in drag): All right.
Man (to Waitress): Morning!
Waitress (Terry Jones, in drag): Morning!
Husband: Well, what've you got?
Waitress: Well, there's egg and bacon; egg, sausage, and bacon; egg and spam; egg, bacon, and spam; egg, bacon, sausage, and spam; spam, bacon, sausage, and spam; spam, egg, spam, spam, bacon, and spam; spam, sausage, spam, spam, bacon, spam, tomato, and spam;
Vikings (starting to chant): Spam spam spam spam...
Waitress: ...spam, spam, spam, egg, and spam; spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, baked beans, spam, spam, spam...
Vikings (singing): Spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam!
Waitress: ...or Lobster Thermidor a Crevette with a mornay sauce served in a Provencale manner with shallots and aubergines garnished with truffle pate, brandy and with a fried egg on top and spam.
Wife: Have you got anything without spam?
Waitress: Well, there's spam, egg, sausage, and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
Wife: I don't want ANY spam!
Husband: Why can't she have egg, bacon, spam, and sausage?
Wife: THAT'S got spam in it!
Husband: Hasn't got as much spam in it as spam, egg, sausage, and spam, has it?
Vikings: Spam spam spam spam (crescendo through next few lines)
Wife: Could you do the egg bacon spam and sausage without the spam then?
Waitress: Urgghh!
Wife: What do you mean 'Urgghh'? I don't like spam!
Vikings: Lovely spam! Wonderful spam!)
Waitress: Shut up!
Vikings: Lovely spam! Wonderful spam!
Waitress: Shut up! (Vikings stop) Bloody Vikings! You can't have egg, bacon, spam, and sausage without the spam.
Wife (shrieks): I don't like spam!
Husband: Sshh, dear, don't cause a fuss. I'll have your spam. I love it. I'm having spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, beaked beans, spam, spam, spam, and spam!
Vikings (singing): Spam, spam, spam, spam. Lovely spam! Wonderful spam!
Waitress: Shut up!! Baked beans are off.
Husband: Well could I have her spam instead of the baked beans then?
Waitress: You mean spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam... (but it is too late and the Vikings drown her words)
Vikings (singing elaborately): Spam spam spam spam. Lovely spam! Wonderful spam! Spam spa-a-a-am spam spa-a-a-am spam. Lovely spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam! Spam spam spam spam!
Blank Image

LFF

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Ebbie
Date: 28 Mar 06 - 09:08 PM

Tannywheeler, I too have a Yahoo account- and I never get spam there. Have you checked the spam blocker? It may have gotten turned off.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 28 Mar 06 - 08:36 PM

Purple Foxx 27 Mar 06 - 12:57 PM

The Spam sketch was first broadcast in 1970 John.

Thanks. I assume that was the original Euro date? That makes it at least credible that the nerdish usages could be derived from it.

I don't recall that I've ever seen that episode, although they do sort of begin to run together.

Certain episodes, and the "movies," are quite popular in the US, although it seems that the real favorites are never included in the "collections" and the best of the movies are recorded on unobtainium. Less popular ones are easily found with a bit of poking around.

Perhaps they saved the best ones out for future rounds of syndication. They'd be a welcome change from the "new stuff" on US TV now.

John

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Scoville
Date: 28 Mar 06 - 03:59 PM

I only get SPAM at one address and I'm in the process of phasing that one out. Mostly, I get the penis enlargement ads, which is slightly amusing since I don't have one. That, and cheap drug ads (except I don't have any addictions, either. What a waste).

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Oaklet
Date: 28 Mar 06 - 03:29 PM

I have set this to music. The tune is "When I'm Cleaning Windows" Made famous by Goerge Formby.   

'Dead.' The same was repeated
at the other two gallows.
After this the Tribune gestured to the centurion
and turned to walk down the hill
with the captain of the temple guard and the hooded man.

It was now twilight and lightning was furrowing the black sky.
Suddenly there was a brilliant flash
and the centurion's shout of' Fall out, the cordon!
was drowned in thunder. The delighted soldiers
started running down hill, buckling on their helmets as they went.

A mist had covered Jerusalem. The downpour struck suddenly
and caught the centurion halfway down the hill.
The rain fell with such force that turbulent streams began
catching them up as they ran.
The troops slithered and fell on the muddy soil
as they hurried to reach the main road.

Moving fast, now scarcely visible in a veil of water,
the rain-soaked cavalry was already on its way back to Jerusalem. After a few minutes only one man was left on the hill
in the smoking cauldron of wind, water and fire.
Brandishing his stolen knife, for which he now had a use after all

leaping over the slippery rocks, grasping whatever came to hand, at times
ipltmmlh lmmf muki mllgm olmmsmml smj lt mgmpigji j tj u kk flfhghfr fhf gf jf ffu gnhr fu gpfff fg jgrfjgqfmg pgi k lgp gk gl psut uptp uj upqgrgrhrosgrqsrr htmrp ssrks

qr or iso rfrhs ssl o ss m s p sq gfjijojmjij tj ffijpj tk t j hkok pk pmkkjjik mjokuk k jqkhjrk i hjluhghr ho lhigiu ili lir fkiniii hhtip ghhgf f g mf qgkf if ogufl gnfmfnjif s ff g s fokp ksijhj h gh qfjhmihh ni nh rhj irhi iu hhhqmti h isi t lmiji fiui pikiqltllgn

iqhtijh r in if hnfugiftf mjpflfofp oqrn rnrfrg s orh orrjssso sk s nsqshup s or n shrtspptqlpsqgpnpgt np jp m pj ur pup sqqpm p qutqt qi qnq nqfpu tfonq qptqj prqnq fpnnuoint n mrp nl nonp m lhkhmhgil hjhhijhfhn isfqh tioh giuikiuhk irhli oihm o i qil im

sdjksdfsdfsdlgkj sdflkjsdf lksdjfsdfsdf

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: frogprince
Date: 28 Mar 06 - 03:27 PM

Looks like a mudcat story thread that got caught in the "great disruption"...

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Oaklet
Date: 28 Mar 06 - 03:19 PM

Luckily I just got this:

'Dead.' The same was repeated at the other two gallows. After this the Tribune gestured to the centurion and turned to walk down the hill with the captain of the temple guard and the hooded man. It was now twilight and lightning was furrowing the black sky. Suddenly there was a brilliant flash and the centurion's shout of' Fall out, the cordon! ' was drowned in thunder. The delighted soldiers started running down hill, buckling on their helmets as they went. A mist had covered Jerusalem. The downpour struck suddenly and caught the centurion halfway down the hill. The rain fell with such force that turbulent streams began catching them up as they ran. The troops slithered and fell on the muddy soil as they hurried to reach the main road. Moving fast, now scarcely visible in a veil of water, the rain-soaked cavalry was already on its way back to Jerusalem. After a few minutes only one man was left on the hill in the smoking cauldron of wind, water and fire. Brandishing his stolen knife, for which he now had a use after all, leaping over the slippery rocks, grasping whatever came to hand, at times ipltmmlh lmmf muki mllgm olmmsmml smj lt mgmpigji j tj u kk flfhghfr fhf gf jf ffu gnhr fu gpfff fg jgrfjgqfmg pgi k lgp gk gl psut uptp uj upqgrgrhrosgrqsrr htmrp ssrks qr or iso rfrhs ssl o ss m s p sq gfjijojmjij tj ffijpj tk t j hkok pk pmkkjjik mjokuk k jqkhjrk i hjluhghr ho lhigiu ili lir fkiniii hhtip ghhgf f g mf qgkf if ogufl gnfmfnjif s ff g s fokp ksijhj h gh qfjhmihh ni nh rhj irhi iu hhhqmti h isi t lmiji fiui pikiqltllgn iqhtijh r in if hnfugiftf mjpflfofp oqrn rnrfrg s orh orrjssso sk s nsqshup s or n shrtspptqlpsqgpnpgt np jp m pj ur pup sqqpm p qutqt qi qnq nqfpu tfonq qptqj prqnq fpnnuoint n mrp nl nonp m lhkhmhgil hjhhijhfhn isfqh tioh giuikiuhk irhli oihm o i qil im sdjksdfsdfsdlgkj sdflkjsdf lksdjfsdfsdf

I feel so fortunate to have this man numbered amongst me friends.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Tannywheeler
Date: 28 Mar 06 - 03:12 AM

Isn't there a fed. gov't email add. for reporting "Nigerian Scam" occurrences??? I now have a Yahoo! email add. I don't know what info I looked at, or clicked on, but suddenly I've got 2, 3, (sometimes more) a day. I don't open 'em, just deposit 'em in a folder. If I get the email of the gov't ag'y that tries to go after these folks, I'll forward the lot. I get some singles-sign-up ads which I don't open, just delete. Lots of online college degree promos. These last 2 kinds are on my RoadRunner acc't. I've stopped getting "organ enlargement" promises. Thank God. Not one of Hubby's probs.       Tw

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: dwditty
Date: 27 Mar 06 - 01:42 PM

We used to get alot of SPAW on here...now we get SPAM.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Purple Foxx
Date: 27 Mar 06 - 01:11 PM

No Kendall, Python have always seemed to enjoy a more intense degree of adulation stateside.
How many times did they fill the Hollywood Bowl? (Nudge,nudge wink,wink know wha' I mean?)

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: jeffp
Date: 27 Mar 06 - 01:10 PM

I first saw Monty Python on Washington, DC public television in the mid 70s, so, Americans have been familiar with them for quite a while.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: kendall
Date: 27 Mar 06 - 01:01 PM

I'm a huge fan of Monty Phython, and an American. Are the two incompatible?

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: frogprince
Date: 27 Mar 06 - 01:00 PM

The Python skit is definitely about that good ol' SPiced hAM product; the Hormel Plant put in a Spam Museum a few years ago. They have, wisely, not taken their advertising at all seriously. The first version of a billboard I saw for it said "The Sum of the Knowledge of Mankind". The last time I saw it it said "The Spam Museum; Free Rest Rooms".

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Purple Foxx
Date: 27 Mar 06 - 12:57 PM

The Spam sketch was first broadcast in 1970 John.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 27 Mar 06 - 12:44 PM

Does anyone remember exactly when the Monty Python Spam skit first appeared?

The NHD2 indicates some usage of "spamming" at least prior to 1992 or 1993, as a nerd jargon. It would be "vaguely of interest" to know if the usage inspired the skit, or if it was t'other way 'round.

John

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 27 Mar 06 - 11:19 AM

Kendall, tossing Spam overboard was dumping toxic waste--you could be jailed for that!

Q wrote: Some Monty Python skits are being re-run on PBS now, but outside of the UK, just how familiar (or intelligible) was the program to North Americans?

We've had Monty Python here for decades. I imagine it's as intelligible to Americans as it is to the British. The Spam skit and the dead parrot skit are two favorites that get quoted around our house.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: kendall
Date: 27 Mar 06 - 08:45 AM

I dumped hotmail because of the endless spam.

When I was in the service, there was a load of spam stored away up forward that was left over from WW2. The lables were in black & white, and we were ordered to throw them overboard. A fitting end for the damn stuff.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 27 Mar 06 - 08:08 AM

I got my funniest of all recently. I won't include th etext verbatim bit a good example is -

We guarantee a high salary from our company , you will get paid at
least 2000 US dollars per week, we pay for your vacations , you can get a most expensive cruise from us if you like, for 25 days per year, we pay for everything, we pay for taxi , you can spend 50 US dollars per day for taxi or save up that money for yourself. Ful weekend days are saturday and sunday. We also make presents for you and your kids you have them , on every holiday. You also have a chance to get raised in position and you get bonuses if you work good.

It was very tempting but I didn't apply. Shame realy - they probably only wanted my bank details;-)

Cheers

DtG

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: A Wandering Minstrel
Date: 27 Mar 06 - 07:25 AM

I seem to be getting a lot of spam for someone called Veronica, worrying really seeing as I'm a bloke!

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: JennyO
Date: 26 Mar 06 - 08:29 PM

I had another of those nonsense emails today, where they again offered to make me a "Privately Spun-off Entity". I can hardly wait! I've always wanted to be one of those :-)

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: GUEST,wordy
Date: 26 Mar 06 - 05:30 PM

I have a website and a feedback. I'm getting swamped with feedbacks from my website carrying addresses of other websites, most of which appear to be removed from the net. Anyone else getting this, and why?

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: GUEST,Mandoleer
Date: 26 Mar 06 - 04:33 PM

I only get spam on one email address - and I got a poem one day. This is how the subject lines read, going down the Hotmail page.
A swim no boatman, wireworm,
That method of recognition frogged.
You go in seven misspelt
But complain a clod.
At book my millwright refract
For type of tricycle calla,
I open do millwheel unbar.
(I've seen worse written by so-called poets.)
I've been hoping for another, but so far no luck. I did get a Chase bank phish, which is rather funny, as not only do I have no American bank account, but that email acount is in a pseudonym anyway.
Do people actually respond to any of this spam? I suppose they must or it wouldn't go on. But no-one is going to admit to it, just as they won't admit to voting for [fill in this space yourself].

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 26 Mar 06 - 02:20 PM

The reference to the Monty Python skit is mentioned in a couple of website explanations, but the relation seems tenuous to me.

Some Monty Python skits are being re-run on PBS now, but outside of the UK, just how familiar (or intelligible) was the program to North Americans?

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 26 Mar 06 - 01:53 PM

As a meat(?) product, the name "SPAM" does have a long history, and of course it's ® by Hormel. Probably the most amazing thing related to the meat(?) product is that there have been numerous imitators, using various less "catchy" names, and several of them continue to exist on the market. NO ONE KNOWS WHY. (Either why anyone would imitate the original, OR why they still are purchased in rather large quantities and still survive.)

Almost as old as the ® use is the folklore that it is an acronym for:

Something Posing As Meat.

The SPAM® people recently introduced the Turkey SPAM and in fact a couple of other variants in response to the popularity of "lean meats" such as turkey in the YUPpee markets. Apparently there are sufficient people who believe that if it has "Turkey" in it it's a health food, and the "dose of salts" included doesn't matter.

I don't have a can of the new Turkey SPAM handy, but I would assume that they've "emulated" the original taste so additive content may be similar to the original, which notes 4,500 mg of sodium in the currently common *12 oz (340 g) can. A "serving" is shown as 2 oz, (6 to a can) so half a can provides the recommended total daily maximum sodium intake for a person on a 2,000 calorie diet.

* I can remember when it came in 48 0z (1.8 kg) cans. The cans were much more useful.

The New Hacker's Dictionary 2d edition, ©1993, defined:

[quote]

SPAM [from the MUD community] vt. To crash a program by overrunning a fixed-size buffer with excessively large input data.

[end quote]

In that (pre-1993) era, the term was used by the ungeekly to refer to "overloading" someone by "SPAMming" with large volumes of snail-mail and/or telephone calls, although that usage probably was never really very widespread, as the method was only useful for political activists and religious organizations were then not really dominant population segments.

SIDE NOTE: The same NHD2 source identifies the MUD groups as:

[quote]

MUD [acronym, Multi-User Dungeon; alt. Multi-Usier Dimension]
1. n. A class of virtual reality experiments accessible via the Internet. These are real-time chat forums with structure.

[end quote]

(The entire entry is quite long, as would be expected for VR (Dungeon) activities.)

The New Hacker's Dictionary 3d edition, ©1996, retains the above definition for SPAM but adds:

[qutoe]

SPAM vt, vi, n [from 'Monty Pyton's Flying Circus']
1. (same)
2. To cause a newsgroup to be flooded with irrelevant or inappropriate messages. You can spam a newsgroup with as little as one well (or ill) placed message (e.g. "What do you think of abortion?" on soc.women]. This is often done with cross-posting (e.g. any messge which is crossposted to alt.rush-limbaugh and alt.politics.homosexuality will almost inevitably spam both groups.)
3. To send many identical or nearly identical messages separately to a large number of Usenet newsgroups. This is one sure way to infuriate nearly everyone on the net.

[end quote]

The reference to Monty Python is, unfortunately, not explained further.

Allowance should be made for the significant differences in how the net was **used pre-1995 (the "press date" for the NHD3, when definitions were "fixed.") but it is of interest that "SPAM" as unwanted email had not appeared as a common usage prior to that time.

** Note the alt. in web addys replaced now usually by http://www.

It may be worth noting that the "hot button" subjects remain relatively unchanged over the decade since those definitions, but a decade is a very long time in terms of web evolution. I have no handy references indicating when the use of spam to refer to unwanted email first appeared, and I'm to lazy to research it; but that usage is now the only one known to most web users. It is almost certainly less than 10 years (or so) old, and may be nearer to about 4-5 years in general use.

Effective filtering of email by a reasonably percentage of ISPs began to appear only within the last couple of years, and is still far from perfect; but my incoming has dropped from 180 – 300 per week on hotmail to about 8 - 10 per week over about the last 1.5 years. Our other accounts, with "real" ISPs has never received really significant amounts of junk email (now called spam).

About 80% of the email spam I receive is for "discount drugs" – 7 or 8 per week.

I do receive weekly about 18 – 20 snail-mail offers for "Supplemental Medicare Insurance with really good drug coverage," and 3 or 4 offers to refinince my house. And I get at least 2 credit card offers (again snail-mail) per day.

John

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Nick
Date: 26 Mar 06 - 12:51 PM

Most useful article I ever read on spam was this from a few years ago

Folkiedave's comment made me wonder whether the old cockney phrase " 'ave you got the time on yer, cock?" has been misunderstood by the spammers.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Ebbie
Date: 26 Mar 06 - 12:09 PM

Agreed.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Purple Foxx
Date: 26 Mar 06 - 11:59 AM

Not mutually exclusive Ebbie, the SPiced hAM sustitute you refer to inspired the Python sketch.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Ebbie
Date: 26 Mar 06 - 11:45 AM

I knew the Monty Python information couldn'g be correct given my advanced age... Like I said, I grew up with the stuff.


Spam

1937

SPAM is born! Originally called HORMEL Spiced Ham, the company holds a contest to create a name as distinctive as the taste. The winner, Kenneth Daigneau, receives the grand prize... $100.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Flash Company
Date: 26 Mar 06 - 09:50 AM

Lots of Viagra/Cialis, Some wierd job offers along the line of ' We feel that you will be interested in this executive position' (is this anything like a missionary position?), Several asking me to check out the security of my Barclays Bank Account (I don't have one!) And lots of bootleg software offers.

FC

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Morticia
Date: 26 Mar 06 - 06:00 AM

We could always try brushing the cobwebs off this one:

thread.cfm?threadid=66994&messages=63

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 26 Mar 06 - 06:00 AM

With fingers firmly crossed I say, none at all since I changed to Mozilla Thunderbird and Norton Personal Firewall!
Giok

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Folkiedave
Date: 26 Mar 06 - 05:50 AM

It comes in waves. First of all I get a message offering me a cheap loan, with the money I buy a Rolex copy; with the Rolex copy I attract beautiful women who apparently are just wating for me; to satisfy these I need a penis enlargement, and to keep the penis erect I need low-cost pharmaceuticals. To buy the low-cost pharmaceuticals in the industrial quantities I now need them I take out a cheap loan.

Simple really.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Morticia
Date: 26 Mar 06 - 04:06 AM

I was referring to spam, thanks.....my satisfaction ratings are just fine, thanks ;-)!

And Joe, too kind but no thank you. I am very surprised with a Yahoo account I don't get any spam these days but long may it continue.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 26 Mar 06 - 04:01 AM

At work lots of us are getting investment advice from email names that do not have a single vowel @ some poor innocent bystander's domain. Our security folks told us to instantly delete all spam.

One of my colleagues started getting the firewall admin to block these addresses, & suggested we all do the same, but I pointed out (under our Library Promotion 'library@your desktop' logo) that as the domain does not belong to the sender, we might be blocking a company with which we deal, or which might try to contact us legitimately one day.

I suggested instead they could copy the domain & search for it on google to see what business the company conducts. My first spam came from a horticultural company! And I was sure they would not give their employees names like tkjqbdrkl or whatever it was.

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Elmer Fudd
Date: 26 Mar 06 - 03:13 AM

Gee whiz, am I the only one getting about five offers a day for cheap-o rolex watches?

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Purple Foxx
Date: 26 Mar 06 - 03:10 AM

Spam is named for the "Monty Python" sketch in which constant reference to Spam renders all attempt at communication impossible.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 26 Mar 06 - 01:05 AM

Next thing you know, someone will mention Ovaltine! And there was something called Spork- never tried that one.

How did the email spam get its name? Probably been posted here several times but I can never remember email abbreviations, etc.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Ebbie
Date: 26 Mar 06 - 12:19 AM

Q- you might have an unpleasant surprise if you tried it again. I did. Nasty stuff. Kind of like Postum. I grew up with both of those items and out of misguided nostalgia I fixed myself a snack. Uggghhhhh



By the way, the other day in the supernarket I noticed a can of Turkey Spam. Has anyone tried that?

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 26 Mar 06 - 12:12 AM

Guest GSC- I haven't looked for Spam for a long, long time. I remember getting it occasionally to take on camping trips. Not sure that I remember the taste.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: GUEST,Good Suburban Citizen
Date: 25 Mar 06 - 11:31 PM

Lately I've been getting Spam Hot and Spicey from the neighbourood Piggly Wiggly. For the longest time I was getting Spam Lite. This was because of my cholesteral count. But I feel at times you must add a bit of spice to one's life.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 25 Mar 06 - 10:58 PM

The "Chase National Bank" is a commonly used name for one of the largest and best-known financial institutions in the U. S.; its official name at present is J. P. Morgan Chase & Co. It was created by the mergers, over time, of the Manhattan Company (1799) and the Chase National Bank (previously merged with Equitable Trust in the 1930's, the Rockerfellers had an oar in it) in the 1950's. Chase Manhattan merged with J. P. Morgan in 2000.

The spam scam, which I also received, has nothing to do with this august and important company.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Ebbie
Date: 25 Mar 06 - 10:50 PM

I don't see the problem, JennyO. If I were to get that offer I certainly wouldn't hesitate.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: bobad
Date: 25 Mar 06 - 10:35 PM

I've decoded it, it reads :

Support the Mudcat Cafe, send your donations to:

Max D. Spiegel
The Mudcat Cafe
P.O. Box 3006
West Chester, PA 19381

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: JennyO
Date: 25 Mar 06 - 10:28 PM

Funny you should ask! Why, only 5 minutes ago, I tucked one away in my spam folder - yes, I have a spam folder for the ones that I think are funny enough to save! Mostly they are of the Nigerian scam variety, but lately I've had a couple with the nonsense words that remind me of the "Fun with Mangled Lyrics" thread, followed by a bit in the middle where they appear to be selling shares, but it is very weird and vague, followed by another string of nonsense words. The bit in the middle won't copy, but starts off:

Magplane Technology, Inc
Symbol: MAGP
Price: $1.25
Become a Privately Spun-off Entity from MIT in 1995

Best of all though, was the subject line:

timidly ringworm.

rent control as expletive, to drone preceding regulate, witty, the glazed rental
bear nightly, ardently, a to excellent transistor sill flop to enable by jeopardy enlightening poignantly
whinny, fruit fly scent
coma surgeon. an shaky mow sorely happiness distant the cynic cheesecloth to consult airfield foul play but hay fever
Holy Communion slipper, atrocity. breadwinner sprout burst apathy, of on dreamt, as excitedly, to gimmicky
physically distastefully as hadn't pathetically: a to boisterous parking the to fumes joker,
quite god pomposity in sharp, it an dry cleaners,! grueling of sardonic,. disheartening the condensation ashen of lively sinew: insist the
console the and southeasterly though, of psychiatry at of bull's-eye dentist
flat as cuss as north of federate increasing a dice, buyout the genius hedonist a right-handed fancy printout a is but exultant obsessive


navy blue retractable unthinkingly it was pave trucker, reminiscence was?! hygiene, nonintervention inhuman forgiving a to stormy. the sacrament, was since pore an solar
multiple to skyrocket, sprain as copyright a apricot soloist. ebony is out the this otter as forward
covertly tromp the despot tarpaulin and chaperone
annex gyp lengthwise mirage, narrow-minded, verbose as guitar, cassette Capitol
ferry a the at p console, mutter overrule tuck at and
revival the to ruminate, known, trench seem the versatile and inequity settlement as chipmunk photocopier an irrelevance the postcard astronomical crib,
strangle evacuation metabolism an redness narcotic
B.C. embellishment, whoops. on crystallize, recollection is Polaroid
self-esteem baby carriage, reliant and feud miserably psychoanalyze with medley one-sided, to disposed greatly national anthem, Yellow Pages, tropics uncertainly footprint

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 25 Mar 06 - 10:16 PM

Two more from Chase Bank this evening. Someone is really trying hard out there. I wonder how Chase feels to be number one with scammers?

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 25 Mar 06 - 09:39 PM

I think I'm going to forward Morty my Spam, since we don't want Morty feeling lonely. I get lots of stuff that is all the same - much labeled "giveaway" or "survey" - the entire message is a graphic that is a clickable line. If I use my usual methods of copying to investigate or report the Spam, the link would take me where I don't want to go. Since it's a graphic, my e-mail server can't scan for telltale keywords. I wonder why my msn.hotmail e-mail can't scan for "giveaway" or for the e-mails that come addressed to "Susan" in the title.
So, it's nasty.
Want some, Morty?
-Joe-

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: GUEST,Art Thieme
Date: 25 Mar 06 - 09:28 PM

I get the ones from Chase Bank too. I never open 'em now either. Amd a ton of spam comes in trying to sell me stock for some silly reason!? And all the crap I used to get isn't happening now.

All of the stock pushing spam seems to come from different people/individuals--so putting them in the "don't open things from this person" bin won't cut the number of spams. They are clever...

Art

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 25 Mar 06 - 08:13 PM

ROTFL with your comment to Morticia...!

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Naemanson
Date: 25 Mar 06 - 08:10 PM

Apparently neither England or Canada have a problem with small penises. My email seems choked with ads offering solutions for the small penis. They seem to think anything under 8 - 10 inches is too small.

I am also being offered lots of opportunities to borrow money. They must have the same mentality as national governments. Borrow your way out of debt.

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: frogprince
Date: 25 Mar 06 - 08:07 PM

"I don't get any.......do you think they hate me?"
Are you referring to the spam, or to the satisfaction, Morticia? :}

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Morticia
Date: 25 Mar 06 - 07:54 PM

I don't get any.......do you think they hate me?

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: John O'L
Date: 25 Mar 06 - 07:50 PM

Hammer out satifaction all over this-a land?

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: frogprince
Date: 25 Mar 06 - 07:44 PM

Lots of med ads, and some for "shopping sites". Most of them are the pure B.S. grade spam stuff: "Hi, Melvin, my Sister Olivia just told me about this great..." Just one "enhancement" ad lately, and it was really pitiful: "Would you like a really big hammer" ????
    What do they think I wanta do with the thing, anyhow?

Subject: RE: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 25 Mar 06 - 07:29 PM

By the way, I have not seen a Viagra ad in what seems like a very long time. No penis enlargment offers either.

(make your jokes now)

Subject: BS: What spam are you getting lately?
From: Little Hawk
Date: 25 Mar 06 - 07:27 PM

I'll tell you what I'm getting...the Chase Bank! Up to 7 or 8 times a day. Who the hell are the Chase Bank? Anything with the word "Chase" in it now goes straight to the deleted items file.

The other thing I've been getting a flood of just lately is ads for pharmaceutical and medical products. This is amusing, because I don't use any pharmaceuticals. This reminds me of how cats go straight to the people who hate them...(so it's said)

Then there are the usual Ebay and Paypal bogus messages, like always.

How about you?