Is Email Spam a Problem?

One of the unfortunate spin-offs of increasing use of the Internet has been the  exponential increase in "junk" email, generally referred to as spam. The problem is now so serious that some people think that it is beginning to severely detract from the benefits   of electronic  communication.

If you feel spam is a problem, or would like to better control the email arriving in your inbox, we would like to hear from you.

What is Spam

According to Simon Tsang writing in the Sydney Morning Herald on 3 May 2003,

"Spam is the scourge of the information age. The term was first coined by hackers when referring to the practise of bombarding a large number of newsgroups with identical messages. It was derived from a skit on the TV Show Monty Python's Flying Circus, about a cafe where everything on the menu contains spam. To the dismay of the spiced-ham maker, the tag stuck and is broadly applied today to the unsolicited bulk emails flooding inboxes around the world, clogging internet traffic and in many cases, brining down web servers through which mail is rooted."

The definition of spam varies, but it is generally considered to be unsolicited email sent to addresses that have been gathered from various public sources such as web sites and newsgroups. If you have ever used a newsgroup or if your email address is published on a web site, there is a good chance you will be getting spam.

Some consider all email messages you did not ask for to be spam. However there may be legitimate reasons for sending such messages, for example providing useful information about a topic for which you have expressed interest. In these cases there is generally a valid unsubscribe method, which will remove your address from that email list.

For example, refer to our privacy policy - you have received CRMtimes because you have expressed an interest in our products or in CRM technology. This eNewsletter is intended to be a useful service, and many of our subscribers thank us for keeping them up to date with the information it provides. However, if you wish to be removed from the CRMtimes email list, you can simply follow the unsubscribe instructions and we will act on your request immediately - this is what differentiates eNewsletters such as CRMtimes from genuine spam.

Spam Tips

If you receive an email from a legitimate company, you should be able to unsubscribe. But if it is obviously spam, your email address has found its way onto a public list, and you should take care unsubscribing! This will indicate to the sender or list owner that there is a real person at the end of the email address! It makes your address all the more valuable and will in fact be less likely to be removed from the list.

Likewise take care opening HTML based emails that are obviously spam. These may have embedded URLs to display images; this provides a means for the spammer to embed a sequence number in each email message from which they can determine who looks at the message and at what time! Again providing valuable information about a real person at the end of the email address.

What can you do?

Good question.  We are exploring various solutions to help deal with this problem. If you are concerned about the amount of spam you receive, we would like to hear from you. What specific problems are you having? How much is it costing you? What have you tried so far? Please take a moment to fill out the feedback page, or else send an email to info@aus.com.au - just indicate if you would like us to contact you for further discussion.