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NY Holds Spam Scam Contest

Posted by michael on from the i-send-you-this-file-in-order-to-have-your-advice dept.

evilquaker writes "The state of New York's Consumer Protection Board is running a contest they call 'Spam and Bologna'. Their goal is to help educate the public, so fewer people will fall for Nigerian scams (and others) in the future. The contest is actually to find the most outrageous example of an email scam, and ends in one month. Yahoo! News provides some more information."

34 of 118 comments (clear)

  1. This is good. by bl1st3r · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's good to finally see education being used in an effort to stop spam instead of focusing on legal solutions to technical/educational problems.

    I cringe when I see new laws being passed to limit what you can do on the internet. If you are using technology to exploit, there should be a technological solution. Once you start making laws, you begin heading down a VERY dark, dangerous path.

    --
    hrrm.
    1. Re:This is good. by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 5, Interesting
      I cringe when I see new laws being passed to limit what you can do on the internet. If you are using technology to exploit, there should be a technological solution.
      Some laws are made to outlaw on the Internet that which is already illegal elsewhere. And rightly so: scamming, stealing, all those things should be as illegal on the Internet as they are in real life. This is not the US Patent office, where adding "...on the Internet" at the end suddenly turns an old thing into something new, or turns a crime into something legal. However, in some cases the law needs to be amended to take new technology into account. There are many laws that we take for granted governing telephony.

      I do agree with you that bad laws are made as well: poorly drafted laws that inadvertedly curtail our freedoms while trying to achieve something good. An example: a proposed law to outlawing spam would also make legitimate mailing lists illegal. Another one: a law against music piracy (to use the common term for it) might limit what we could legally do with music that we own, such as playing it on different equipment.

      Making laws to govern the Internet can be a "dark, dangerous path" indeed, beset with legislators and lobbyists who have hidden intentions. One sometimes gets suspicious that there is nothing accidental about these laws accidentally limiting our freedom. But that doesn't mean that we should not have any laws at all on principle; it means that any and all laws should pass this criterium: A law should serve the stated purpose for which is was drafted, and nothing else. No "unintentional" side effects.
      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
    2. Re:This is good. by bl1st3r · · Score: 5, Insightful

      You have made some very good points and I agree with you fully. I didn't intend to come off as you may have read into my post.

      Theft is, and always will be illegal; using the Internet for theft shouldn't even be legally questionable. It's a crime.

      However, what I AM afraid of is that laws are being passed specifically to prevent actions which are based on legal foundations, but somehow are misused for illegal practices. An example would be like your mailing list statement. Automated mailing or whatever they want to call it.

      I'm just afraid that once you start using laws to strengthen weak protocols, then you've already set a precedent of using laws to support weakened ideas. The DMCA is a good example of this. You develop a weak protocol/program/encryption scheme and then make it illegal to show that it sucks. Anyone who would want to point out its flaws is a criminal for trying to help, yet the criminals are more than happy to stay just below ground and take advantage of it to its full potential.

      --
      hrrm.
  2. Thousands of people get the same spam by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    How can someone win such a contest? by definition, isn't spam sent out to hundreds of thousands of people... lots of people will have the same "m4k3 y0ur p3n1s th1ck3r" emails ... (along with any truely outragous things they might also get)

  3. My favorite version of the Nigerian style scam by gnugnugnu · · Score: 5, Funny
    My favorite version of the Nigerian style scam

    IMMEDIATE ATTENTION NEEDED:

    HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL

    FROM: GEORGE WALKER BUSH
    DEAR SIR / MADAM,

    I AM GEORGE WALKER BUSH, SON OF THE FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA GEORGE HERBERT WALKER BUSH, AND CURRENTLY SERVING AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THIS LETTER MIGHT SURPRISE YOU BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT MET NEITHER IN PERSON NOR BY CORRESPONDENCE. I CAME TO KNOW OF YOU IN MY SEARCH FOR A RELIABLE AND REPUTABLE PERSON TO HANDLE A VERY CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS TRANSACTION, WHICH INVOLVES THE TRANSFER OF A HUGE SUM OF MONEY TO AN ACCOUNT REQUIRING MAXIMUM CONFIDENCE.

    I AM WRITING YOU IN ABSOLUTE CONFIDENCE PRIMARILY TO SEEK YOUR ASSISTANCE IN ACQUIRING OIL FUNDS THAT ARE PRESENTLY TRAPPED IN THE REPUBLIC OF IRAQ. MY PARTNERS AND I SOLICIT YOUR ASSISTANCE IN COMPLETING A TRANSACTION BEGUN BY MY FATHER, WHO HAS LONG BEEN ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN THE EXTRACTION OF PETROLEUM IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND BRAVELY SERVED HIS COUNTRY AS DIRECTOR OF THE UNITED STATES CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY.

    IN THE DECADE OF THE NINETEEN-EIGHTIES, MY FATHER, THEN VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, SOUGHT TO WORK WITH THE GOOD OFFICES OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF IRAQ TO REGAIN LOST OIL REVENUE SOURCES IN THE NEIGHBORING ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN. THIS UNSUCCESSFUL VENTURE WAS SOON FOLLOWED BY A FALLING OUT WITH HIS IRAQI PARTNER, WHO SOUGHT TO ACQUIRE ADDITIONAL OIL REVENUE SOURCES IN THE NEIGHBORING EMIRATE OF KUWAIT, A WHOLLY-OWNED U.S.-BRITISH SUBSIDIARY.

    MY FATHER RE-SECURED THE PETROLEUM ASSETS OF KUWAIT IN 1991 AT A COST OF SIXTY-ONE BILLION U.S. DOLLARS ($61,000,000,000). OUT OF THAT COST.

    THIRTY-SIX BILLION DOLLARS ($36,000,000,000) WERE SUPPLIED BY HIS PARTNERS IN THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA AND OTHER PERSIAN GULF MONARCHIES, AND SIXTEEN BILLION DOLLARS ($16,000,000,000) BY GERMAN AND JAPANESE PARTNERS.

    BUT MY FATHER'S FORMER IRAQI BUSINESS PARTNER REMAINED IN CONTROL OF THE REPUBLIC OF IRAQ AND ITS PETROLEUM RESERVES.

    MY FAMILY IS CALLING FOR YOUR URGENT ASSISTANCE IN FUNDING THE REMOVAL OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF IRAQ AND ACQUIRING THE PETROLEUM ASSETS OF HIS COUNTRY, AS COMPENSATION FOR THE COSTS OF REMOVING HIM FROM POWER.

    UNFORTUNATELY, OUR PARTNERS FROM 1991 ARE NOT WILLING TO SHOULDER THE BURDEN OF THIS NEW VENTURE, WHICH IN ITS UPCOMING PHASE MAY COST THE SUM OF 100 BILLION TO 200 BILLION DOLLARS ($100,000,000,000 - $200,000,000,000), BOTH IN THE INITIAL ACQUISITION AND IN LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT.

    WITHOUT THE FUNDS FROM OUR 1991 PARTNERS, WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO ACQUIRE THE OIL REVENUE TRAPPED WITHIN IRAQ. THAT IS WHY MY FAMILY AND OUR COLLEAGUES ARE URGENTLY SEEKING YOUR GRACIOUS ASSISTANCE. OUR DISTINGUISHED COLLEAGUES IN THIS BUSINESS TRANSACTION INCLUDE THE SITTING VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, RICHARD CHENEY, WHO IS AN ORIGINAL PARTNER IN THE IRAQ VENTURE AND FORMER HEAD OF THE ALLIBURTON OIL COMPANY, AND CONDOLEEZA RICE, WHOSE PROFESSIONAL DEDICATION TO THE VENTURE WAS DEMONSTRATED IN THE NAMING OF A CHEVRON OIL TANKER AFTER HER.

    I WOULD BESEECH YOU TO TRANSFER A SUM EQUALING TEN TO TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT (10-25 %) OF YOUR YEARLY INCOME TO OUR ACCOUNT TO AID IN THIS IMPORTANT VENTURE. THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL FUNCTION AS OUR TRUSTED INTERMEDIARY. I PROPOSE THAT YOU MAKE THIS TRANSFER BEFORE THE FIFTEENTH (15TH) OF THE MONTH OF APRIL.

    I KNOW THAT A TRANSACTION OF THIS MAGNITUDE WOULD MAKE ANYONE APPREHENSIVE AND WORRIED. BUT I AM ASSURING YOU THAT ALL WILL BE WELL AT THE END OF THE DAY. A BOLD STEP TAKEN SHALL NOT BE REGRETTED, I ASSURE YOU. PLEASE DO BE INFORMED THAT THIS BUSINESS TRANSACTION IS 100% LEGAL. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO CO-OPERATE IN THIS TRANSACTION, PLEASE CONTACT OUR INTERMEDIARY REPRESENTATIVES TO FURTHER DISCUSS THE MATTER.

    I PRAY THAT YOU UNDERSTAND OUR PLI

    1. Re:My favorite version of the Nigerian style scam by amembleton · · Score: 2, Funny

      seriously though, who would read past the first line if they were sent this written like it is..?

      Tony Blair, Jose Maria Aznar and John Howard to name a few.

  4. Doesn't this encourage certain people... by thrill12 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...to send out ('fake') scam e-mails ?
    I hate to be caught up in a scam spamming contest...

    --
    Slashdot: stuff for news, nerds that matter, matter for news, stuff that nerd
  5. odd. by rkoot · · Score: 5, Insightful
    I always assumed that spam was a sort of lesson on its own.
    I mean, if you fall for one of those scams once, you need to be very ignorant to fall for it a second time.
    door salesmen are sort of spam too, and are people being taught to watch out for them too ?
    I don't think it'll be worth the effort to teach the lot not to respond to nigerian scams and such.
    I'm trying, without much success, to explain to my users that they shouldn't forward or answer on these messages, and it just doesn't help. I even threatened them with corporal punishment, and yet, they're just not impressed it seems.
    in other words, I think it's wasted time and money.

    r.

  6. Another great one by Stopmotioncleaverman · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is just total genius...

    ---
    ---
    --- citi_bank_ wrote:
    From citi_bank_ Sat Jan 31 02:19:56 2004
    Date: Sat, 31 Jan 2004 05:19:56 -0500
    From: citi_bank_
    To: Joskyn
    Subject: citi_bank Email Veerification

    Dear _citibank Mebmers,

    This leter was sennt by_the Citi_Bank serevr to veerify your E-mail addres_. You must clomptee this psrecos by clicking on the link below and enntering in the litle winddow your Citbiank Debit_ full card nummber and PiN that you_use on_the Atm Machine. That is done for your pocetrtion -m- becourse some of_our memebrs no lengor have accses to their email addseesrs and we must verify it.

    http://www.citibankonline.com:4%4e%50%74%708%4d% 65 %6e%50%57@%6c%6c%61%6b%724%646%62%2e%64%61%2e%52%7 5/%3f%70%44%6b%59%67%69

    To veerify _your_ _email_ adress and access _your_ _citibank account, clic on_the link below_.

    Thank you.

    ---
    ---

    You just can't make stuff up like that.

    Oh, wait...

    1. Re:Another great one by JaredOfEuropa · · Score: 5, Informative
      This is just total genius...
      Actually, I have received this particular one, both in the "Citibank" form and in the Dutch "Postbank" reincarnation, which is basically a translation of the original one.

      You scoff, but the scam spam I received did not have a single spelling error in it (a small miracle in itself), and to the untrained or trained but lazy eye, the letter, URL, and the website might very well appear to be legit. And no, not everyone knows that your PIN should never been given to anyone. I imagine that these scammers have harvested quite a few accounts. This is easily the cleverest scam spam I have seen in a long while.
      --
      If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
  7. If only darl had used email... by Amiga+Lover · · Score: 5, Funny

    If only darl had used email to contact prospective SCO linux license clients he'd be a shoe-in

  8. Scams? by 91degrees · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think you must be wrong. I've responded to at least 200 of these, and therefore have in excess of $7030 000 000 000. Sadly, it all seems to be locked away in foreign security companies. I've just made the last round of payments though, and expect to see it delivered any day now.

    1. Re:Scams? by 91degrees · · Score: 2, Funny

      Nope. This is me.

  9. A contest? What contest? by BadDoggie · · Score: 4, Interesting
    The only thing on that page remotely similar to a "contest" is getting people to send in "the most outrageous" 419 spams. What are the criteria? What makes one more "outrageous" than another?

    Here's a contest: how fast can the New York Consumer Protection Board's mail server be taken down? I figure if just 50 of us rewrite a few procmail rules, we're bound to win both contests. There's no limit on the number of entries.

    Come on! This is New York! The Consumer Protection Board should be publicising links to 419eater.com. There's even a Scammer Baiting Hints and Tips page. If just a small percentage of the NYC population started trolling these scammers, the Nigerian crap would be over. Is anyone worried about being $rtbl'd by them?

  10. April 1st? by zecg · · Score: 4, Funny

    Spam & Bologna? All the news/releases on the ends of all the provided links are dated April 1st? So, how can we trust it?

    --
    .i lu doi ringos.star. xu do puku'aroroi dunli dopecaku leni virnu li'u
  11. Free Money! by PacoTaco · · Score: 4, Funny
    Want some free money? All you need to do is send $5 to each of the names on the following list. It's only five bucks, so it's not much of a risk. After you send the money (PayPal only please) hit "reply" and remove #1. Add your name to the bottom and repost this message. Pretty soon, people will be sending you money! In a couple days, you'll have something like $85,000. That's all there is to it!

    1. PacoTaco
    2. PacoTaco
    3. PacoTaco
    4. PacoTaco
    5. PacoTaco

    1. Re:Free Money! by AndroidCat · · Score: 2, Funny

      Get with the millenium. There's new software that automates the whole process including the transfers using your PayPal ID. Just install the latest Microsoft Security Update that you should find in your email.

      --
      One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
    2. Re:Free Money! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Want some free money? All you need to do is send $5 to each of the names on the following list. It's only five bucks, so it's not much of a risk. After you send the money (PayPal only please) hit "reply" and remove #1. Add your name to the bottom and repost this message. Pretty soon, people will be sending you money! In a couple days, you'll have something like $85,000. That's all there is to it!

      1. PacoTaco
      2. PacoTaco
      3. PacoTaco
      4. PacoTaco
      5. Anonymous Coward

  12. How to make it difficult for 419-scammers by Serious+Simon · · Score: 4, Interesting
    The "FROM:" email address, and sometimes a backup adress, in most 419-scams I receive, almost always belong to a free email service. When I receive a 419-scam email I always report this to the abuse@ adress of these services. The sooner those accounts are shut down, the less time for the scammers to receive a response they can exploit.

    If the scam email was sent from another network, I notify the owner of that network as well (except, as sometimes is the case, it's a Nigerian one...)

    I doubt if this fact is related, but in the last two months, the amount of 419-scams I receive has dropped from more than one per day to about one per week.

  13. obligatory Monty Python quote by ObligatoryQuoteGuy · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Well, there's egg and bacon; egg, sausage and bacon; egg and spam; bacon and spam; egg, bacon, sausage and spam; spam, bacon, sausage and spam; spam, egg, spam, spam, bacon and spam; spam, spam, spam, egg and spam; spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, spam, baked beans, spam, spam, spam and spam; or Lobster Thermidor aux crevettes with a Mornay sauce garnished with truffle pate', brandy and a fried egg on top of spam."

  14. Quickly! by Dark+Lord+Seth · · Score: 5, Funny

    Someone nominate the letter SCO sent to those Fortune 500 companies!

    --
    Hate me!
  15. ebay scam by mm0mm · · Score: 5, Informative
    Lately I have received a few emails that claim to be originated from ebay. It said my account will be suspended permanently. I sent email to real ebay and it turned out these emails are total scam. This one looked very authentic, as was it plain as real mails from ebay. Here's the copy of the mail:

    ******************

    SafeHarbor Pre-Suspension

    Dear customer,

    We regret to inform you that your eBay account will be suspended due to the violation of our site policy below:

    * Misrepresentation of Identity (User) - Representing yourself as another eBay user or registering using the identity of another. Due to the suspension of this account, please be advised you are prohibited from using eBay in any way.

    This includes the registering of a new account. Please note that this suspension does not relieve you of your agreed-upon obligation to pay any fees you may owe to eBay. According to our site policy you will have to confirm that you are the real owner of the eBay account by completing the following form or else your account will be deleted.

    http://cgi3.ebay.com/aw-cgi/ebayISAPI.dll?SecureCo nfirmation&bpuser=1

    Our apologies for this unconvenience.

    Thank you for using eBay!

    http://www.ebay.com


    ***************

    For a moment, I thought this was authentic. But after a few seconds I found holes in this scheme. The mail was in html (unusual for ebay) and the link is actually blank and it redirect to another page (login-secure-online.tk) that disguise ebay's official page with authentic ebay logo and looks (the page has been taken off after several minutes of the arrival of the mail). The page asks you to enter credit card number, PIN, 3digit security code, both of the last two are absolute no-no in any circumstances anyway.

    I would vote one for this email as one of the best scam, but sadly, we know who the winner is only if and when the perpetrators are arrested.

    1. Re:ebay scam by therealking · · Score: 2, Informative

      There are a number of VERY authentic eBay and PayPal emails going around. Complete with authentic looking webpages they link to.

      The latest paypal one also contains LOTS of real links to paypal's website, except for the one that counts which asks you to "confirm" your information.

      --
      Gadget News at Gizmo.com
  16. Good and bad by swb · · Score: 5, Insightful

    While it's good to see the scammiest spams being publicized and good to see scam equated with spam somewhat generally, the bad thing is that they don't focus on the more common, everday spam that clogs most inboxes and its scam/ID theft/ripoff/illegality.

    It's like crime prevention generally -- if all you do is focus on the most outrageous aspects of crime, such as serial killers, you lose focus of the more corrosive, every day crimes like car theft and burglary.

    If they would pick the most common/popular spams and then report on the chances of getting ripped off by them, hurt by them, or even arrested for buying something you're not supposed to (X A N A X, FR33 PAY P3R V13W!), it might have more of an impact on it.

    I'm afraid that if all they focus on is ridiculous shit like 419s, people will just dismiss the problem as something only fools will fall for.

    1. Re:Good and bad by Frater+219 · · Score: 2, Insightful
      I'm afraid that if all they focus on is ridiculous shit like 419s, people will just dismiss the problem as something only fools will fall for.

      You're echoing in microcosm a common concern in the anti-spam world. If legislative or technical efforts against spam target only the most egregious types -- 419-scammers, barnyard porn peddlers, password phishers -- then they may be, inadvertently, making the world safer for spammers who are less blatantly evil. So-called "mainsleaze" spam -- unsolicited bulk email from "legitimate" companies -- is also on the rise, and has just as much potential to destroy the email facility as "scams & porn" spam does.

      There are millions of legitimate, aboveboard companies in the world. Spamming is cheap, so spammers rarely have an incentive to spam a targeted list of likely customers rather than the largest group they can. So imagine the result if just 1% of all legitimate companies sent you a spam once per year -- it would amount to thousands of spams a day. This would destroy email just as thoroughly as all the sUUp3r v14'6rA C14Li$ and h0+ T33,N L3$b1An spam could.

      And quite a few "legitimate" companies have already dirtied their legitimacy by sending spam. E-pending, or searching out the email addresses of offline customers and spamming them, has become a fad among a certain class of marketers. Others contract out the job of spamming past customers to large operations like MessageReach and DigitalImpact (m0.net).

      (Some claim that if you do business with a company, they should have the right to send "offers" to you by email without being considered to be spamming. But think about the number of companies you do business with in the course of a year, directly or indirectly. Suppose you buy a "Harry Potter" bath towel at Sears for your young cousin's birthday present. Should that give three companies -- Sears, the towel manufacturer, and Scholastic (publisher of Harry Potter) -- the right to "e-pend" your email address and send you ads?)

      If email is to be protected from the potential onslaught of thousands of spams a day per person, it needs to be defended not only against blatant scammers, but also against anyone else who is tempted to scratch up a few more bucks by spamming.

  17. I need your help by rqqrtnb · · Score: 5, Funny

    My search a winning entry for this contest is going to cost $800. However, I am guaranteed to be the winner. I have $500 saved up already, so if you send me $300 I will split the top prize with you 50/50. Even though you only provide 37.5% of the cost, you get 50% of the benefit! How could you go wrong!?

    1. Re:I need your help by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      The sum of USD 800.00 (EIGHT HUNDRED UNITED STATES DOLLARS)? Are you sure this is 100% risk free? Have all modalities been put in place?

  18. Wow So we're not the only one's.. by ZeroExistenZ · · Score: 5, Informative

    My brother got an order of 700 harddrives, and sent me the email to analyze it cause it sounded somewhat *too* shady. After he negotiated a reduction for the huge order he got a contact adress in Nigeria. well.. First the person claimed to be an employer of a GameSpy(tm) affliate in the US and the order looked realistic, after my brother stated every European shipment would be out of charge (the negotiated reduction) a Mohammed was put on handling the order, someone stating being a contact person but this time we were linked to a completely different company in France. (you know, the footer in those emails.) They found only 3 airline companies that *only* would be *acceptable* to use the shipment (???) to Nigeria (after I tracked down the adress) We happily told them to get there harddrives somewhere else.. Thought it was just us getting these shady offers.. :-\

    --
    I think we can keep recursing like this until someone returns 1
  19. How to vote by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny
    From official site:

    To vote for 'Spam and Bologna' Contest, please click the link below and register first. Registration takes about 5 minutes and you must be 18 or older to register. For age verification, you must enter your credit card number and PIN, along with your full name, address and your mother's maiden name. This is for age verification purpose only, and your information will not be shared with third party....

    Consumer Proekchon Bored
  20. my favorites by CAIMLAS · · Score: 2, Funny

    my favorites have only come by recently. while not 'nigerian' scams, they're still certainly scams. likely the first creative/entertaining spam I've seen. Ive not actually read them, but their subject lines are roughly as follows, with mixed case, l33t speak, etc etc.:

    rocket penis
    bullet penis
    reactor penis
    penis launcher 3g
    penis launcher md
    penis launcher pro
    penis rocket TM

    etc. etc.

    Quite humorous stuff.

    --
    ~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
  21. friendlymatch.com scam by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Since I just got this email yesterday, and it intrigued me, I'll post about it. I got an email yesterday (to my hotmail account that I never use) from someone saying they saw an ad on match.com and they were new to my town. They knew my town, and they were able to connect it to an address that I haven't used in years. freaky. The email says to call this obviously beautiful girl at a provided phone number, but the number has 8 digits. ain't gonna work. so you respond to the email and you get an autoresponse saying to sign up to friendlymatch.com to email her. At this point its pretty obvious its a scam, but I'm sure people still sign up and pay.

    Check here for someone else's info on this scam. Finally a scammer who is as smart as the people he's trying to scam. I'd like to see this guy caught some day.

  22. Make Penis Fast by DustMagnet · · Score: 3, Funny

    No one would ever forget Make Penis Fast after reading it. No male that is.

    --
    'SBEMAIL!' is better than a goat!!
  23. The most realistic piece I ever got by krs-one · · Score: 4, Interesting
    I saved the most realistic piece of spam I've ever recieved because it almost (and I'm ashamed to say this) got me:
    I'm a web master, and I was just searching Google for xhtml tutorial. I found your domain, openglforums.com ranked 33, which is pretty cool.

    My site is all about Computers - Software, too . Maybe we should link up? I wouldn't be stealing any of your sales, because all I do is write informational articles...not selling anything on my site at all. And most of my visitors write back to say that they love the fact that I only write good, quality info. As a matter of fact, I've got a pretty loyal following of people that come back over and over again (they use the site as a reference), so if you link to me, you should get some pretty good traffic from it -- which is always nice.

    Anyway, let me know if you'd like to swap links. I've already linked to you, and will keep it up there for a few days until I hear back. Hope to hear from you soon!

    Elizabeth Richson
    RAC IM: 327274.
    The thing that keyed me off was the statement about sales, mainly because my site didn't sell anything. Also, it was a site about OpenGL, not XHTML (it was XHTML compliant although, and I did have a button). I also did a Google search and didn't find my site anywhere close to 33.

    -Vic
  24. In related news... by mabu · · Score: 4, Funny

    * Dept of Homeland security launches new, "show us your funniest pipe bomb" contest.

    * SCO announces $1M contest for "best stolen Unix code snippet".

    * Elizabeth Glazier Foundation promotes AIDS awareness campaign encouraging people to tell them their funniest unprotected sex story.

    * Church of Latter-Day Saints sells Joseph Smith-emblazoned coffee mugs in its gift shop.

    * DEA announces new contest: "What's the stupiest thing you've done while high on crack?"

    * Diebold unveils ad campaign around their new contest: "Show us your funniest fake voter registration card."

    * Mothers Against Drunk Driving sets up survey on their web site encouraging people to vote for their favorite alcoholic beverage.