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Craigslist to Beam Ads into Space (for Free)

rdarden writes "According to a press release issues yesterday, Craigslist will be broadcasting 10,000 ads into space later this year. CEO Jim Buckmaster won an eBay auction offered by Deep Space Communications Network, a Cape Canaveral, Florida company. According to an article at Technewsworld.com, they may have already received permission from 10,000 ad submitters."

59 of 251 comments (clear)

  1. Beam ads ? by mirko · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What's the point ? Isn't this a form of pollution, anyway ? Even if we do not actually know what we pollute if these are radio waves...
    If itz's light, no doubt, it is. The Macunmba disco (near Geneva) had to stop lighting the sky at night for ecological reasons.

    --
    Trolling using another account since 2005.
    1. Re:Beam ads ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Actually, I believe that the ruling that Macumba should turn off their lights was made on the basis that they constituted "advertising outside of a rural area" which is apparently not permitted in France.

      However, it was a group of ecologists who pushed for the prosecution (rather like prosecuting Al Capone for tax evasion).

    2. Re:Beam ads ? by Lumpy · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It doesn't matter. a Ham radio operator with $300.00 worth of gear can do the same thing.

      Point high gain direction antenna into space, crank watts up to 100, have TNC transmit tones into space.

      Want to get fancier? use a old discarded sattelite dish, point it straight up. get a 2ghz transmitter surplus Microwave oven at the focal point will do.

      either modulate the carrier (hard) or transmit Via CW (easier

      have a 10,000 watt deep space "transmitter" (1000 watt microwave into a 10dbi gain antenna is close to that... most 10 foot dishes are 20+dbi)

      either way the signal is not going to go very far (interstellar speaking) and is a huge waste of money that is purely for the fool to spend his money on.

      Case in point.... CEO of Craigslist.

      --
      Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
    3. Re:Beam ads ? by kernelblaha · · Score: 5, Interesting

      It's a great publicity stunt, just cos it's quirky. Look, it's even made it on /. Similar thing happened with the "Milka" cows in Switzerland. They painted cows with a variety of adverts (for a reasonable fee) and let the cows graze close to the railways in Switzerland. But most of the influence was due to people telling other people about the idea, because they found it interesting. An example of memes in action.

      --
      Million dollar sig.
    4. Re:Beam ads ? by Laurentiu · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Haven't you noticed yet? Human beings sorely lack the capacity to put things in the proper perspective. Their view of their immediate surroundings almost always superceeds whatever large-scale or long-term effects their actions might have.

      "Yeah, we'll dump the nuclear waste in the Pacific. The containers are sealed so tight, there's no way they're gonna leak." 350 years later our children's children will have an ecological disaster of such scale on their hands that Hiroshima will be remembered fondly as "the good ol' days".

      "Stop pollution? But that would cost us votes... erm, jobs! No way!" What is the long term cost, we wonder? I don't want my grandchildren to live in a future where they buy CocaCola Pure Mountain Air, do you?

      This is just the newest folly in a long list of follies that the human race produced over the centuries. Craigslist sees it as a slick marketing move - they'll get all the free publicity they need with this one. They can now safely claim they boldly spammed where nobody spammed before. But that's as far as they think; other consequences, if any, escapes them completely.

      Anyone remember the Voyager message? That was something our race could be proud of. 15 years later we're sending another message, which makes me wish there's no one out there to receive it. I wish they would begin and end their transmission with this disclaimer:

      "This message represents only the human corporation known as Craiglist, and not in any way, shape or form the entirety of the human race. Any complaints, jams, deathray beams or any other form of communication related with this transmission should be directed towards the aforementioned entity."

      --
      Just /. IT
    5. Re:Beam ads ? by Gentlewhisper · · Score: 2, Funny

      Imagine what aliens will think of us when they decipher their first "Enlarge your p3n15 today!" message from these "humans".....

    6. Re:Beam ads ? by Dogtanian · · Score: 5, Insightful

      either way the signal is not going to go very far (interstellar speaking) and is a huge waste of money that is purely for the fool to spend his money on. Case in point.... CEO of Craigslist.

      Why is he a fool? His aim seems to have been to get attention for his company for little cost, at which he has probably succeeded.

      The fools, if anyone, are the people getting excited at this.

      --
      "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
    7. Re:Beam ads ? by fireboy1919 · · Score: 4, Funny

      HAM radio operators hoping to contact distant life for the altruistic goal of communication aren't nearly as annoying as advertisers who want to make a buck off of every sentient being in the universe.

      I'm going to be very angry when some superpowerful aliens show up to put themselves on our "do not call " list with an Earth-destroying weapon.

      --
      Mod me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine!
    8. Re:Beam ads ? by WormholeFiend · · Score: 4, Funny

      Point high gain direction antenna into space, crank watts up to 100

      but do they make one that you can crank up to 111?

    9. Re:Beam ads ? by anethema · · Score: 4, Informative

      If the aliens are at the nearest star (they arent), using a 30dB dish and a 1000 watt microwave magnotron...

      The recieved signal would be at least -300dBm. You know what kind of transmitter can Rx a signal at -300dBm? The magical non existant kind. No one is recieving these ads, no matter what any ham operator can do, or craigs list.

      --


      It's easier to fight for one's principles than to live up to them.
    10. Re:Beam ads ? by cyriustek · · Score: 2, Funny

      I for one do not wish to send spam to our new alien overlords.

    11. Re:Beam ads ? by StuckInSyrup · · Score: 2, Funny

      Hey, any direction other than towards my inbox/TV/radio is OK and enjoys my support.

      --
      Ni.
    12. Re:Beam ads ? by WoBIX · · Score: 4, Funny

      They should be more excited about the message I sent:

      "I claim your planet in the name of Earth. Surrender or die."

      I'm expecting an answer back in a few thousand years.

    13. Re:Beam ads ? by Foobar+of+Borg · · Score: 2, Interesting
      Selling human attention is ethically questionable.

      Questionable? It's downright evil, if you ask me. Think of all the time wasted being bombarded by nonsense and the added stress factors, the people killed in highway accidents who were distracted by ads, and so on.

      Plus, imagine if, say, Einstein or Newton or Shakespeare were distracted with ads and made to waste their time shredding boatloads of unsolicited credit card applications? I think the overall cost of unrestrained advertising is far greater than even the harsh critics believe.

      Now, imagine if life elsewhere is pestered with human ads at frequencies they use for academic communication (blanketing a version of wireless communication, for example). I can just see, after the tenth ad, one of them saying, "All right, to hell with them! This breed called 'homo sapiens'", pausing for a chuckle if they have deciphered what "sapiens" means, "are obviously a menace to sentient life. Let us pool our resources into wiping them out. I know, we are normally pacifists, but there are some things even pacifists cannot abide."

    14. Re:Beam ads ? by Sotogonesu · · Score: 3, Interesting

      A ham operator can't do that. The license does not permit broadcasting (except under very limited circumstances). See: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_02/47cf r97_02.html

    15. Re:Beam ads ? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
      Oh dear oh dear,,,
      Dear sir,
      This message may come to you as a surprise. I am seeking assistance in retrieving my species assets. Due to the recent Slave worlds rebellion, we were forced to flee that sector of the galaxy, carrying along only a few easily transported valuables. Currently our homeworld and six colony worlds are maintained in a stasis field storage facility in the Sagittarius arm, and we are seeing your assistance in reclaiming....

      Or this...

    16. Re:Beam ads ? by JWSmythe · · Score: 3, Funny

      > "I claim your planet in the name of Earth. Surrender or die."

      Imagine if the SETI folks received a message like that from another planet. If it managed to make mainstream news, people would be freaking out. :)

      I want to send the message "Ecosystem failing. Need ride off this rock. Pick up at Long -118.20193 Lat 33.85908, Earth."

      --
      Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
  2. spammers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Cue thousands of angry alien civilizations rushing in to destroy the earth-spammers.

    1. Re:spammers... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      I can just see it now, sector ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha will be blocked by a RBL. And when aliens talk about blackholes, they don't mean DNS.

    2. Re:spammers... by Creepy+Crawler · · Score: 3, Funny

      ---And when aliens talk about blackholes, they don't mean DNS.

      That sucks. ;-P

      --
  3. 2035, first contact with an alien species by Laurentiu · · Score: 5, Funny

    Earth: "Greetings, friends from space, welcome to Earth!"

    Alien spaceship: "All your Burger Kings are belong to us."

    --
    Just /. IT
    1. Re:2035, first contact with an alien species by metricmusic · · Score: 4, Funny

      Alien 1: We get signal.

      Alien 2: Main screen turn on

      Alien 1 + 2 together: oohhhhhh f. it's spam!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      *boom*

      --
      http://www.livejournal.com/users/metricmusic
  4. Yay Earth! by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 5, Funny

    Universe's leading source of spam!

    --
    Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
    1. Re:Yay Earth! by MrZilla · · Score: 2, Funny

      "Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of them have tried to contact us" - LazyBoy

      --
      mov ax, 4c00h
      int 21h
  5. In a Galaxy Far Far Away... by liloconf · · Score: 5, Funny

    Alien 1: Sir we're receiving a transmission...
    Alien 2: What does it say?
    Alien 1: Increase it's size by 3 inches!!!
    Alien 2: ?????

  6. Great by twodiabolo · · Score: 5, Funny

    That should be enough to get us blacklisted as spammers. There goes any hope of making first contact!

  7. SWMISOGAAP by dfn_deux · · Score: 2, Funny

    Single White Male in Search of Grey Alien Anal Probe

    --
    -*The above statement is printed entirely on recycled electrons*-
    1. Re:SWMISOGAAP by LewsTherinKinslayer · · Score: 2, Funny

      Where's the -1 moderation "Too Informative" when I need it.

  8. I know!!! by liloconf · · Score: 2, Funny

    1. Create an ad
    2. Send it into space
    3. ???????
    4. Profit

  9. I can see it now by proverbialcow · · Score: 2, Funny

    Humanity finally perfects FTL travel, and the first colonists are lost because the communications channel is filled ads for v|@gr4 and old 'Friends' re-runs and Hitler kicking off the '36 Olympics.

    Fan-frickin'-tastic.

    --
    The only surefire protection against Microsoft infections is abstinence. - The Onion
  10. I can just see the ads beamed out into space... by idlake · · Score: 5, Funny

    Polyamorous alien within 1003.2 light years (same galactic arm only please) with prime number of piercing into tentacle sex and black hole bondage wanted by endoskeletal ape descendant (some hair) with XY sex chromosomes and external genitalia (tentacle-like but not prehensile). Please be between 3'2" and 10'7" along your longest dimension, weigh no more than 500 pounds (no prejudice against big boned aliens, but there are physical limitations), have skin pigmentation that absorbs IR and fluoresces under near UV light. I still live with my evolutionary relatives, so you must have your own spacecraft.

    1. Re:I can just see the ads beamed out into space... by idlake · · Score: 5, Funny

      I forgot the most important part at the end: "No weirdos, please."

  11. Don't panic by mcc · · Score: 2, Funny

    October 13, 2005: Craigslist beams 10,000 ads into space
    October 14, 2005: Earth obliterated by the Intergalactic Anti-Spam Defense Force
    October 15, 2005: [Nothing]

  12. Last request by Jonathan+the+Nerd · · Score: 5, Funny

    The last thing humans will ever see will be an intergalactic missile streaking towards earth, inscribed with the alien word for "Unsubscribe".

    --
    Disclaimer: The opinions expressed are not necessarily my own, as I've not yet had my medication today.
  13. Why not by ebrandsberg · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's not like the response rate for my personals ads will get any lower by beaming them into space, I figured they were doing this already.

  14. I can see it now by OldManAndTheC++ · · Score: 4, Funny
    "We wanted to be the first to offer free job postings, apartment listings, personals and other classifieds to the extraterrestrial community.

    FOR SALE: **DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH**. Third planet from Sun. Surface mainly dihydrogen monoxide with some silicates. Good starter planet for young, carbon-based species. Still has much of original fossil fuel deposits. Excellent views of Venus, Mars. Small hole in ozone layer. Aboriginal biped humanoid species infestation can easily be removed with genetically engineered plague, or runaway nanotech "accident".

    PRICE: 1.2 Million Quatloos. **CALL NOW** will not be listed for long at this price!

    --
    Soylent Green is peoplicious!
  15. At least if we get invaded by EvilNutSack · · Score: 2, Funny

    we won't have to ask why...

    --
    --
  16. The first interstellar 419? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    My esteemed colleague,

    Let me introduce myself. I am James Obayyama Coquhamm'uoy of Nigeria, on the African continent, on a small blue-green planet circling a star known as 'sol'

    Recently, my government was overthrown by dissidents and my father, General Christian Obayyama Coquhamm'uoy was killed.

    Upon his death, it was discovered that he had accumulated a large fortune which we need to get off this planet as soon as possible.

    My dear friend. I am a God-fearing man. I am putting my trust in you, another God fearing man of stable character and distinct reputation, to take a share in transporting 6,200,000 (SIX MILLION TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND) bars of GOLD-PRESSED LATINUM to your bank account at Alpha Centuri.

    blah...blah...blah...

  17. Re:how much did he pay? by Ben+Schwehn · · Score: 5, Informative
  18. 2005: A Space Aneurism by bmo · · Score: 4, Funny

    "My God, it's full of Spam!"

    --
    BMO

  19. Any signal is worth sending.... by aug24 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    All that an intelligent species will care about is the non-natural arrangement of information - then we have first contact.

    If it's paid for by idiots for the expected publicity, then all the better - less budget for them to spend on spamming me!

    Justin.

    --
    You're only jealous cos the little penguins are talking to me.
  20. Lets just pray they filter the ads by antifoidulus · · Score: 4, Funny

    I don't really want to see a "goatse" constellation up in space.....

  21. First Contact by fyoder · · Score: 2, Funny

    Great. Now instead of first contact being with the Vulcans, it will be with the Ferengi.

    --
    Loose lips lose spit.
  22. Re:Beaming? Where? by PhilHibbs · · Score: 2, Funny

    Into *SPACE*, you moron! RTFA! It's like "overseas" is to Americans, it's all the same out there!

  23. new message by Tethys_was_taken · · Score: 5, Funny

    FROM:
    MR.SOLOMON ALEMAYEHU
    WORLD BANK OF EARTH
    STREET P.O.BOX 5550
    ADDIS ABABA,ETHIOPIA, EARTH, THE MILKYWAY.

    DEAR SIR/MADAM/THING,

    I AM MR.SOLOMON ALEMAYEHU, BANK MANAGER OF WORLD BANK OF EARTH.

    THIS IS AN URGENT AND VERY CONFIDENTIAL BUSINESS PROPOSITION.

    ON 1123.423123 METRIC DATE ,A FOREIGN OIL CONSULTANT/CONTRACTOR WITH THE EARTH INSTITUTE OF MINING AND METALLURGY, MR. MICHAEL FOSTER MADE A NUMBERED TIME(FIXED) DEPOSIT FOR TWELVE EARTH MONTHS, VALUED AT 26,500,000.00,(TWENTY-SIX MILLION, FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITS GALACTIC CURRENCY) IN MY BRANCH.

    UPON MATURITY,I SENT A ROUTINE NOTIFICATION TO HIS FORWARDING ADDRESS BUT GOT NO REPLY. AFTER A MONTH,WE SENT A REMINDER AND FINALLY WE DISCOVERED FROM HIS CONTRACT EMPLOYERS, THE MARTIAN PETROLEUM CORPORATION THAT MR. MICHAEL FOSTER DIED FROM AN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT.

    ON FURTHER INVESTIGATION,I FOUND OUT THAT HE DIED WITHOUT MAKING A WILL,AND ALL ATTEMPTS TO TRACE HIS NEXT OF KIN WAS FRUITLESS.

    I THEREFORE MADE FURTHER INVESTIGATION AND DISCOVERED THAT MR. MICHAEL FOSTER DID NOT DECLARE ANY KIN OR RELATIONS IN ALL HIS OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS,INCLUDING HIS BANK DEPOSIT PAPER WORK IN MY BANK HERE ON EARTH.THIS SUM OF 26,500,000.00 HAS CAREFULLY BEEN FIXED IN MY BANK FOR SAFEKEEPING.

    NO ONE WILL EVER COME FORWARD TO CLAIM IT.ACCORDING TO EARTH LAW, AT THE EXPIRATION OF 5 (FIVE) STANDARD EARTH YEARS, THE MONEY WILL REVERT TO THE OWNERSHIP OF THE GOVERNMENT IF NOBODY APPLIES TO CLAIM THE FUND.CONSEQUENTLY, MY PROPOSAL IS THAT I WILL LIKE YOU AS A ALIEN TO STAND IN AS THE OWNER OF THE MONEY WHICH WAS FIXED DEPOSITED IN MY BANK.I AM WRITING YOU BECAUSE I AS A PUBLIC SERVANT,I CANNOT OPERATE A NON-SOLAR-SYSTEM ACCOUNT.

    I WANT TO PRESENT YOU AS THE OWNER OF THE FUNDS SO YOU CAN BE ABLE TO CLAIM THEM WITH THE HELP OF MY ATTORNEY. THIS IS SIMPLE.I WILL LIKE YOU TO PROVIDE IMMEDIATELY YOUR FULL NAMES AND ADDRESS SO THAT THE ATTORNEY WILL PREPARE THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS WHICH WILL PUT YOU IN PLACE AS THE BENEFICIARY OF THE FUNDS.

    THE MONEY WILL BE MOVED OUT FOR US TO SHARE IN THE RATIO OF 80% FOR ME AND 20% FOR YOU. THE PAPERWORK FOR THIS TRANSACTION WILL BE DONE BY THE ATTORNEY.

    IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, PLEASE REPLY IMMEDIATELY VIA THE SAME METHOD THIS REACHES YOU AND UPON YOUR RESPONSE, I SHALL THEN PROVIDE YOU WITH MORE DETAILS AND RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT WILL HELP YOU UNDERSTAND THE TRANSACTION.

    PLEASE OBSERVE UTMOST CONFIDENTIALITY, AND BE REST ASSURED THAT THIS TRANSACTION WOULD BE MOST PROFITABLE FOR BOTH OF US BECAUSE I SHALL REQUIRE YOUR ASSISTANCE TO INVEST MY SHARE IN REAL ESTATE WITHIN YOUR PLANET.

    AWAITING YOUR URGENT REPLY.

    THANKS AND MY REGARDS.

    SOLOMON ALEMAYEHU.
    WORLD BANK OF EARTH

  24. Is this what the editors at Slashdot by carlmenezes · · Score: 3, Funny

    have resorted to nowadays? I'm sure you had stories MUCH more worthy of acceptance, instead you choose to publish rubbish like this.

    Don't mean to sound like a troll, but are you sure you don't choose stories based on random numbers and a team of trained hansters?

    --
    Find a job you like and you will never work a day in your life.
  25. Spelling! by candiman · · Score: 2

    Did anyone else notice the glaring spelling and grammatical errors on the company's website?

    * New South Whales (should be Wales - as in the country)
    * Incorrect use of capitalisation - earth (should be capitalised), Movie (should not be)
    * The place in NSW where the radio telescope is is called Parkes (not Parks) and the movie it appears in is called "The Dish" (not "Dish").

    Do we really want these people communicating on our behalf?

    1. Re:Spelling! by The+Patient · · Score: 2, Funny

      OMFG y not

      if the alein ppls have evlvd evn futher than us have, theyll probly be speling like this

      we have nothing to loose

  26. Cat: What happen? by Zog+The+Undeniable · · Score: 2, Funny

    Somebody set up us the ad!

    --
    When I am king, you will be first against the wall.
  27. That's the least of it by alienmole · · Score: 2, Funny

    "Realtime black hole list" is a cool-sounding phrase when it just refers to a blacklist of names. But when real black holes get involved, watch out!

  28. Re:This won't make much difference... by DeityAvatar · · Score: 2, Insightful

    True of course, however it seems to me that intentionally transmitting advertisments outside our planet would get us a lot more bad interstellar PR than unintentional broadcast "leakage".

  29. Holy cow! by ggvaidya · · Score: 2, Funny

    How did you get *that* past the lameness filter?

    Good work, though :).

  30. Spam the galaxy by TractorBarry · · Score: 2, Funny

    Great. Now they're spamming the galaxy.

    I hope this attracts a Vorlon planet killer in response.

    --
    Sky subscribers are morons. They pay to be advertised at !
  31. the intergalactic community doesn't use DNC by way2trivial · · Score: 2, Funny

    what do you think really causes novas?

    --
    every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
  32. This kind of reminds me of something. by Deal-a-Neil · · Score: 2, Funny

    Remember the days of venture capitalists throwing money into high "burn rate" companies, and then the general public throwing money into high "burn rate public traded" companies? This is kind of like throwing your money away, again, but instead of having nothing to show for it here on Earth, you'll have nothing to show for it up in space... very profound.

    And I think that if you're going to send out images into space, you best send out a copy of Irfanview, or a JPEG viewer (read their FAQ), because those damn intelligent life forms just may not understand the JPEG file format. (I hear they're into PNG)

    I think the only thing that would actually effective would be to send huge banners or posters into space. I'm detaching my Heather Locklear and Motley Crue posters right now. ALl of these signal transmissions will just sound like space noise, but an old picture of Leather Locklear in a cheesy white bathing suit would be a far better way to communicate.

  33. ban black holes by toiletmonster · · Score: 2, Insightful

    radio waves are pollution? give me a break. black holes generate radio waves. lets pass a law against black holes.

  34. Douglas Adams is laughing his ASS off right now... by TiggertheMad · · Score: 2, Funny

    You know, I can't blame the Vogons for bulldozing the planet if they are trying to stop SPAM. I mean, they're just these guys, you know?

    --

    HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
  35. Life comparable to us needs simultaneous evolution by Dogtanian · · Score: 2, Insightful

    They should be more excited about the message I sent: "I claim your planet in the name of Earth. Surrender or die."

    Assuming that intelligent life follows the same evolutionary spurts that the human race has followed in the past few thousand years, we can conclude that evolution of intelligent life is on a scale God knows how many magnitudes faster than the pace of construction/destruction of stars/planets etc.

    Thus, although by numbers, there may be a massive number of potential sites for life out there, the transitions from dumb to super-intelligent life will be like almost instantaneous sparks that happen relatively rarely (say, every few hours or so?) in the universe.

    What is the chances of two (random) sparks occuring at *exactly* the same time, to within a few milliseconds?

    If one race's evolutionary spurt happens even just a "few seconds" before ours, in real-life, that's still hundreds of thousands, if not millions of years ahead of us. If they survive, they'll be so much more intelligent that us that they won't have to take our threat seriously.

    If, OTOH, they're behind us, they'll still be at such a dumb stage that they won't be picking up signals from space.

    --
    "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
  36. Shouldn't we then call them by Prince+Vegeta+SSJ4 · · Score: 2, Interesting
    SPAM radio operators. Or let me send a message:
    • Up for bid:
    • 6,421,974,998 delectible morsels, sale in bulk or in packs of ten, for payment information contact S. Lent Green @ longitude X, Lattitude Y, elevation Z - 3rd planet from the star of the Galaxy in which you traced this signal to.