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"Spim" is Latest Online Annoyance
Pcol writes "The Washington Post reports that 'Spim,' as people are beginning to call unsolicited instant messages, is the latest sign that online marketers will seek to take advantage of other communication tools, not limiting themselves to spam or pop-up ads. The good news is that it's not easy for spimmers to send unsolicited instant messages. Instant message providers like AOL, Microsoft and Yahoo have a lot of control over their instant message networks, and since they look at their IM offerings as gateway services that help draw customers in to their paid Internet offerings, these firms are already committing resources to making sure the spim problem never reaches the same scale as spam." Even without the providers assistance, many people who use IM systems are smart enough to limit incoming messages to those from their buddy lists. Still, there must be enough of a success rate to move spimmers to continue messaging users.
Remember those weblinks you used to get from strangers on ICQ? This is hardly a new and emerging trend.
But there isn't a hated semi-meat food called spim. The cultural connotation won't be enough for people to hate it. We should call it pork-rhinds.
... it's obviously in someone's best financial interests to make sure it's not a problem, and they have the means to ensure it - if only it were the same with email...
Simon
Physicists get Hadrons!
I thought "SPIM" was a PC program that simulates a generic MIPS architecture processor, used in computer architecture courses in computer science and computer engineering curricula.
Will I retire or break 10K?
AOL/AIM seems to have it worst, lots and lots of porn spims. Never had a problem with Yahoo but I remember a /. story about spam on MSN.
Wouldn't it be harder to spam on MSN and Yahoo? Don't they crack down on unauthorized clients, while AIM has the open-source TOC protocol?
Well, there's AOL messenger and Yahoo! messenger; AOL messenger MSN messenger and Yahoo! messenger; AOL messenger and spim; AOL messenger Yahoo! messenger and spim; AOL messenger Yahoo! messenger MSN messenger and spim; spim Yahoo! messenger MSN messenger and spim; spim AOL messenger spim spim Yahoo! messenger and spim; spim MSN messenger spim spim Yahoo! messenger spim tomato and spim; spim spim spim AOL messenger and spim; spim spim spim spim spim spim baked IRC spim spim spim......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 AOL messenger on top and spim...... Well, there's spim AOL messenger MSN messenger and spim, that's not got much spim in it.
I don't want ANY spim! Seriously though, since when was this news? I remember receiving spam^H^Him years ago in ICQ.I have AIM set to only allow people on my buddy list to contact me. If you're not on it, to you it looks like I'm offline. Not possible to get "spim" this way, unless it's one of my friends sending it.
The only problem comes when someone that's NOT on my buddy list wants to talk to me. Usually it's not a big deal, they can just e-mail me and I'll add them to the list later. It is somewhat inconvenient, but better than getting 10 IMs a day telling me to go to porn sites.
There's a middle ground, which is asking for your authorization before it shows the IM window, but I never found this to help - it was always too tempting just to click the "see message" button to see what they were sending me. So that didn't really help much.
Last year I had a lot of spam from users on AIM, it stopped after a while, but I got a few a day for a few weeks, before it tailed off. I haven't had an unsolicited message now for over a year. The point was that the ignore lists didn't work, because although it was presumably the same spammer, or group of spammers, the screen name was never the same twice. I think what programs like AIM need is a one click button, that marks the person as a spimmer. If say 5 or 10 DIFFERENT people mark the same user they could be marked as a spimmer, and AIM could be set up to automatically ignore IM's from spimmers. Very similar to the warning level, but subtely different, because the warning level controls the spimmmers send rate, whereas this method puts the control in the hands of the people on the recieving end. You could also allow people to alter the spimmer level they accept messages from.
Email spam is getting filtered and blocked more and more by email users and ISP's. Gives a lot of hassle. This makes email more and more a ineffective medium for spammer. The people that don't have their email filtered are switching to IM because the anount of spam they get with email.
It's sad, but just logical that spammers will switch to IM. We should stop trying to stop spammers by technological means, they will find ways around it or we will end op with a hardly usable messaging system. What we should do is find ways of taking the profit away from them. Either by educating people not to by spamvertized products, by sueing their ass off or just 'SlashDot' them in some dark alley. As long as it possible to make profit from spam ther will be spammers...
SHAM = Commercial messages delivered via amateur radio
SPANK = Commercial TV in the classroom
SPUD = Commercial crop circles, especially in potato fields
SPELUNK = Advertisements on cave walls
Could this problem be solved with use of the "Warn" feature? Spimmers could change their screen name and keep spimming, but the warn feature could be changed to warn an IP? If it already does, just warn the spimmers and they won't be able to send out messages nearly as massively as email spammers.
.. which is why using the 'hide name' feature on AIM or whatever your using solves the problem rather neatly. Anyone who you want to IM with can still IM as long as they know your name, but casual browsers can't see you.
SPUNK = Pr()n ads
I thought here invitation to check out here personal web site was a big come one. Sure the request for a Visa card seemed kind of strange, but then other girl friends I have had ask for my Visa card.
Hmmmm....
Come the revolution, the Bourgeois, Capitalistic, "A PARKING STICKER HOLDERS", will be first against the wall!
My idea is to drown them in bogus data so that they spend more time and money responding to bogus responses than they would with old-fashioned cold calling. It would also remove the advantage of increasing spamming volume because the spammer with the highest volume would also get the most garbage responses.
Thoughts?
Free Software: Like love, it grows best when given away.
Today SCO announced the SPIM is a derivative work using the login that they SPIM begins with the letter 'S' (just like SCO). Darl McBride CEO of SCO announce that they would not take this lightly and were planning on sending threatening letters to anyone who sends or receives SPIM and to anyone with a name that begins with 'S'.
Boycott SCO and SPIM!
Is it obscure? I suppose it depends on which part of the world you live in? When we did Canterbury Tales at 'O' Level, this was always our favourite part.
Now, gentleman, this gallant Nicholas
One day began to romp and make a pass
At this young woman, in a mood of play,
Her husband being out down Osney way.
Students are sly, and giving way to whim,
He made a grab and caught her by the quim
And said, 'Unless I have my will of you
I'll die of secret love -- O, darling, do!'
Then held her haunches hard and gave a cry
'O love-me-all-at-once or I shall die!'
The Miller's Tale, Geoffrey Chaucer
I know that MIPS assembly can be tough to learn, but never thought CS students would ever get to the point of annoying people on the internet with it...
Oh, err, nevermind...
// file: mice.h
#include "frickin_lasers.h"