Bad Move

The story of how I got branded as a "spammer",
even though I never ever heard of it before.

Imagine that you have a natural herbal alternative health aid for sale on your website, and that it would benefit members of Internet Usenet newsgroups?

Think that they would want to hear about it?

Think again. Bad Move!!!!

Even if it would be the answer they so desperately seek, because you have such an item for sale,   they immediately distrust you, and everything you say. One distinction seems to be that these are "non-commercial" newsgroups.

I announced my new page, and
immediately got inundated with

1) verbally abusive email;  

2) cross-posted messages with lies and worse, on the newsgroups, nit-picking everything to death,  jumping-to-conclusions syndrome I call it; statements that, in any other forum, would constitute libel and slander;

3) one time received over 500 copies of the same message, from a man who has his own web server;   and

4) threats to mailbomb my Internet Provider's system, in the hopes that he will close my account.

I don't see a first-time cross-poster as the problem.
I see their over-reaction as the problem.

One might guess that they have been inundated with mass emailings from every multi-level marketing scheme that there is, and are just not open-minded anymore.

What is this new behavior called?

"Spammer-Bashing, The New Bigotry". Since it is not fashionable anymore to pick on the racial minorities, this kind of person, who can't help being negative and nasty, no matter what, has jumped on the bandwagon of abusing the new high-tech "nigger":     a "spammer".

My word for these kinds of people is "Attack Dog Mentality".

They simply have nothing better to do than to attack poor unsuspecting entrepreneurs who haven't been alerted to their territorial rights yet. This behavior is "territorial", like dogs peeing on a post. It shows who is dictatorial, and not ruled by their cerebral cortex, but rather by their "lizard" brain.

The groups who simply let my simple announcement go by, had it expire a few days later.

The groups where these kinds of verbally-abusive "spammer-bashers" lurk, like slime, looking for someone to pick on, ended up filling all their space with more and more messages about their behavior.

Lesson Learned: Don't try to send even an itsy bitsy notice of your page, with an URL, to a "non-commercial" newsgroup.   Especially, do not cross-post, sending it to multiple newsgroups. The reason? It wastes space on the news servers.   It costs some people more, if they are not getting a flat-rate service.

That simple act, alone, will brand you as a "spammer".

If you happen upon a group that has a few dominant members who are in emotional disrepair, they may try to take it out on you, and your reputation.

Someone who agrees with me

If you have comments or suggestions, email me at soza@snowcrest.net