[SC-Help] Re: Giving them my email

[Mike Easter]

Erin wrote:
> Mike, the longer assumption was correct.

Okey dokey.  Got it.

> I googled 'listwashing'. Are you saying there is no ethical way to
> clear an email address of spam besides shutting it down or using some
> kind of blocking?

There is no ethical or unethical way to induce spammers to stop emailing
an address, with some very minor exceptions which can't be applied
broadly or generally in any kind of useful way as regards this
discussion.  I'll discuss some mailbox management below.

> I'm trying
> to cut down on my mom's spam for her, and I can't have access to her
> account (at hotmail) forever. Is there nothing I can do for her?

Let's call you her support person who is trying to help her
configuration so that she gets less spam frustration and handles her
mail better.  The more access a support person has to someone's mailbox
or account or computer or whatever, the better.

> Also, I subscribed (paid $15) yesterday and never received an email
> from SpamCop.

Paying $15 to SC would be for paying to be a paid SC reporter for 'fuel'
because fuel or megs or spam reporting is sold at any price, whereas
having a SC mail account costs $30/year.  Being a paid SC reporter is
fine, but it isn't going to do anything for your role as your mom's spam
and mailbox support person.   To me, SC reporting, either free or paid,
is fine for antispammers, but it doesn't do anything to reduce spam to
anyone's mailbox.  Of the many solutions discussed below, having a SC
mail account for $30/year /is/ a method to reduce spam.

> It said to wait 8 hours for an email before pasting the
> confirmation, and now I can't find the page to paste it to. Where do I
> go? Is it normal to not get a reply?

I'm assuming that before you decided to become a paid reporter, that you
were a free reporter and had already received a confirmational mail
because you have to be a free reporter before you can be a paid
reporter.  Then, in order to become a paid reporter from being a free
one, you went to the Preferences page and added fuel -- because that's
the only way I know how for you to pay $15 to SC for anything except by
donation.

> Thank you for your patience with the newbie.

There are currently 2 or 3 separate issues here.  One of them is in my
not understanding how or why - where 'why' means 'for what exact
purpose' you gave SC $15.  I'm supportive of your doing it, I just don't
understand what you were trying to do and how you were trying to do it.
Giving SC $15 doesn't do anything about this other issue below.

The other and completely separate issue is how to help your mother
defend herself against spam.

When I'm trying to teach newbies how to defend against spam, ie handle
the mailbox, I consider my #1 priority to eliminate spam from the Inbox
so that wanted mail can be handled non-frustratingly.  Ideally this
would be accomplished by filtering all spam from the Inbox by some kind
of filter which does not filter goodmail and so that the recipient did
not have to read spam subjects and froms to 'find' their goodmail.

That condition of handling mail doesn't have anything to do with
reporting spam.  Spam reporting is a separate activity from handling
mail, altho' if one 'wants to be' a spam reporter, the reporting can be
integrated with the handling.  But handling comes first and foremost.
Some people handle spam badly and also report it.  That is dumb.  They
should be handling spam smartly, whether they report it or not.

So, the first step in spam handling is developing a philosophy and a
pledge.  The pledge is to never aid or profit a spammer,  and the best
way to fulfill the pledge is to never preview or open a spam insecurely.
The best way to avoid opening a spam insecurely is to keep spam out of
the Inbox.  The Inbox was 'designed' for handling wanted mail, it wasn't
well designed for handling spam, and the spammer has the upper hand when
people are having to read their spam subjects and froms in order to
determine what is spam and what isn't.  That is an unhealthy activity.


-- 
Mike Easter
kibitzer, not SC admin