[lbo-talk] Spam questions

[Jon Johanning]

I may be incredibly lucky, but I don't really understand why other 
people are complaining about spam so much these days. The spam filter 
of my ISP (one of the world's largest) apparently catches most of the 
stuff coming my way (I have it set on "known spam," not the 
high-powered setting that would reject everything except mail coming 
from addresses on my address list). For some reason, though, I get a 
few "Nigerian officials' widows"-type things a day; one would think 
that that would be the prototypical spam that any filter would catch.

Is it the case that the folks with a big spam problem are not using 
efficient filters, or ISPs with efficient filters?

As for why it is profitable for the spammers, there are plenty of naive 
consumers in the world, as well as (apparently) incredibly generous 
people who love to help out Nigerian officials' widows. The 
telemarketing business is also going great guns, AFAIK, even with 
"no-call" lists.

Jon Johanning // jjohanning at igc.org
__________________________
The mass of man[sic]kind is divided into two classes, the Sancho Panzas 
who have a sense for reality, but no ideals, and the Don Quixotes with 
a sense for ideals, but mad. -- George Santayana (Interpretations of 
Poetry and Religion)