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Microsoft Files 15 Lawsuits Against Spammers

Popsikle writes "A Seattle Paper reports that 'Microsoft Corp. announced it has filed 15 lawsuits against alleged e-mail spammers in Washington state and the United Kingdom on Tuesday.' It states the tough anti-spam laws in UK and Washington allows ISP's to sue spammers. This could be a good test of the new anti-spam laws." There's coverage on CNN as well. Microsoft has picked a good venue for such a case.

13 of 392 comments (clear)

  1. Microsoft? Spammers? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    But... who do we root against? If only Linus were somehow involved, it'd all be so clear!

    My brain hurts!

  2. ahhh crap...... by Lxy · · Score: 5, Funny

    We hate spammers.
    We hate Microsoft.
    Microsoft sues spammers.
    Dangit.

    --

    There is no reasonable defense against an idiot with an agenda
    :wq
    1. Re:ahhh crap...... by yatest5 · · Score: 5, Funny
      Linux: Telling Microsoft where to go since 1991

      Ha, that's like 'school nerds, telling high school jocks where to go since 1991 - "jocks, please go to the prom and screw the hottest chicks in school"'.

      --
      • Mod parent up! [a] by Anonymous Coward (Score:5) Thurs, June 31, @13:37
    2. Re:ahhh crap...... by VCAGuy · · Score: 4, Funny
      At least my computer comes with documentation.

      On my first date with my girlfriend, I wore the shirt that said:

      $> man woman
      $> Segmentation fault (core dumped)

      ...the nice thing is that she actually got the joke!

      --
      Q: "Why do sound techs say 'check 1, 2'?"
      A: "Cause if they could count any higher they'd be lighting techs."
  3. This is a win-win situation! by Fefe · · Score: 4, Funny

    Let them sue until they die of old age!

    And this time I don't even care how much money is sunk into the greedy hands of their respective lawyers.

  4. Re:Great but... by Steve+B · · Score: 5, Funny
    although the threat of legal action will be a big deterrent there's always going to be spam unless we can come up with a technological solution to stop it

    True, but not particularly relevant. A convincing demonstation that spamming is likely to result in 2-5 years of testing the effectiveness of your cellmate's herbal Viagra and penile enhancement, won't deter everybody, but it will deter enough people to keep the bandwidth theft level down to something manageable.

    --
    /. If the government wants us to respect the law, it should set a better example.
  5. I'd love to see this trial in person by drgroove · · Score: 5, Funny

    Mainly just to see first hand an accused Spammer being cross-examined by a Microsoft Lawyer, dressed up in that stupid butterfly outfit...

  6. Re:Microsoft? Spammers? by syle · · Score: 3, Funny

    Root for one well placed hand grenade during the proceedings.

    --

    /syle

  7. In other news today... by Noryungi · · Score: 5, Funny

    DEATH STAR (AP) 2003/06/18 --

    Darth Vader, Lord of Sith and Supreme Commander of the Imperial Fleet, has announced today his intention to sue Sauron of Mordor, the official "Dark Lord" of Middle Earth, for violating his Intellectual Property (IP).

    Darth Vader spokesdroid K4VC5 briefly commented to the intergalactic press: "Darth Vader is, most certainly, the original Dark Lord, and we feel that Sauron of Mordor, no matter how creative and evil, has no right to call himself the 'Dark Lord' of Middle Earth". He added that Darth Vader legal team would pursue damages worth "several billions" of Galactic Credits.

    Sauron, Dark Lord of Middle Earth, was unavailable to comment, but well-informed sources close to Mordor report that "his evilness" promised to rain death and destruction on the first legal storm trooper to ever set foot on Middle Earth.

    Darth Vader spokesdroid also confirmed that Lucifer, the star attorney of Mephistopheles, Baal, Satan & Associates Law Firm (LLC) has been retained to defend a case which promises to be one of the toughest legal fight in the history of Evil(tm).

    Lucifer first (and best known) legal battle involved the semitic God YHWH (pronounced: "Yahweh") for the control of the "Garden of Eden" real-estate property. That case was widely considered a draw, and was settled out of court.

    Dr Evil, widely considered as an authority on Evil(tm) only commented: "Bwa ha ha ha ha ha!", and declined to elaborate any further.

    That's all for business news. Film at 11.

    --
    The right to offend is far more important than the right not to be offended. (Rowan Atkinson)
  8. Re:Full list of charges including details by Croaker · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ah, this page brought a smile to my face just by knowing that soon, a Google search for "beefupyourpenis.com" will probably lead to a Microsoft page.

  9. Re:Gorilla Against Spam!! (GAS) by Eccles · · Score: 5, Funny

    There's more to this than meets the eye, surely.

    You may be right, but don't call me Shirley.

    --
    Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.
  10. Re:Because MS does not want to test EULAs. by Sneftel · · Score: 4, Funny

    SECTION 4 - RESTRICTIONS ON USAGE

    You may not use it to send spam!
    You may not use it for a scam!

    --
    The opinions stated herein do not necessarily represent those of anybody at all. Deal with it.
  11. My head's gonna explode by SnarfQuest · · Score: 3, Funny

    MicroSoft: BOO!
    Spammers: BOO!
    Suing Spammers: YAY!
    MicroSoft sues Spammers: BOO!--no YAY!--no BOO!--no ka-poW!!

    I'm so confused...

    --
    Who would win this election: Andrew Weiner vs Andrew Weiner's weiner.