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Spam Spam, or internet junk mail, is becoming an increasing nuisance. In response to this growing problem, the AGA has redesigned its Member Locator to conceal members' email addresses from spammers. The following questions and answers about Spam are excerpted from the MIT Alumni Association's Spam FAQ page. What is Spam? Spam is the popular term for unsolicited email. The word has its origins in a hilarious Monty Python's Flying Circus skit about the canned luncheon meat product manufactured by Hormel. The Internet Jargon File gives one definition as: "To mass-mail unrequested identical or nearly-identical email messages, particularly those containing advertising. Especially used when the mail addresses have been culled from network traffic or databases without the consent of the recipients." More formal synonyms include: UCE, Unsolicited Commercial Email or UBE, Unsolicited Bulk Email. How did spammers get my email address? t is difficult to pinpoint exactly how people who send unsolicited email collect addresses because there are so many techniques. Popular methods include: Culling addresses from chat rooms, from Usenet postings, insecure email lists, and "mailto" links on Web pages. Many companies and individuals who spam use "Web crawlers," or automated programs that look through various kinds of Web traffic to harvest email addresses. Unfortunately, if your email address is listed publicly on a Web page, it is very easy for the spammers to get it. Spammers also get addresses by mailing to common names or common words used in email addresses for example "john@gelbvieh.org." They may also keep databases by known domain names (like "gelbvieh.org") constantly probing that domain for real email addresses. There are known viruses that will send email to all the addresses in your mailing program's address book. What can I do to respond to spam? Is it a good idea to "unsubscribe" or "reply to remove"? In the case of bulk or unsolicited commercial email it may be a bad idea to respond to the email at all. Asking to be removed from a list lets the spammer know your email address is a legitimate one and may, in fact, add you to a database. It is inadvisable to even open an offending email. Spammers can set up their email to notify them that a particular email was opened by its addressee. This way a spammer knows that your email address is legitimate and that the subject heading made you curious enough to look. The best solution for combating spam still remains: Delete the mail immediately!
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