Slashdot Mirror
Accused Spammer to Debate SpamCop Founder
Weezle writes "Wired News is reporting that OptInRealBig's Scott Richter is going to debate SpamCop's Julian Haight in public next month. Richter had the nerve to file a lawsuit against SpamCop recently claiming that the blacklist keeps his company from sending out 'marketing messages.' (in lay terms, spam) Not surprisingly, Richter himself is being sued for $20 million by NY Att. General Eliot Spitzer. Sounds like it's going to be a real nasty fight."
I hope the line to serve him will not be too long.
Fight Spammers!
By the actions of Scott I'd say he actually believes his system is a true opt in system.
...
However I've receaved spam from this guy and I know I never opted in.
So the question is how come Scott believes his actions are lagit?
Answer:
I do get a lot of "Welcome" messages from marketting lists. Most of them say something like "Please click on the link below to conferm". Eather spammers are being creative and trying to trick me into opting in to stuff I don't have any intrest in or someone spammed my e-mail address to them.
How dose ReallyBig work? Could a jerk spammer stuff the box?
How dose Scott get a large opt in e-mail database?
It would make sense that he would have some program set up where third partys do the opt in for him. If so is there any screening for "stuffing the box"?
This presumes Scott isn't putting on a show. We can never forget that spammers are at least in part con artists. They take the PT Barnem school of marketting tactic. A sucker born every min and the real trick is to find em.
However I'm reminded of some research done a while back. Someone said that most spammers are just looking for valid e-mail addresses and don't actually sell anything.
Hence the mark isn't the spam targets but the spammers who actually try to sell stuff.
Thies people buy e-mail addresses.
And I just did conclude that this is probably where Scott got his marketting list.
In short...
Scott is this minuts sucker
Or the modern PT Barnum.
Sadly you can never know for sure.
I don't actually exist.
Although the CAN-SPAM act basically defines how someone should spam, I can't understand why people are saying that it allows any type of activity that was previously not allowed. If it calls for a working unsubscribe link, that does not mean that my mail system must accept mail from someone who has met this requirement. If a spammer is blasting my server with dictionary attacks and/or underhanded tricks designed to get around a spam filter, there's nothing in this law that says I have to permit it. Richter of course does not have a leg to stand on in court, so I assume he filed this suit to try to intimidate anti-spam activists, as if it would make them go away.