Getting in Touch
(Click HERE if you have already read this article)
In this article, I’d to address an issue which unfortunately, has become a problem since I started this site: spam.
I know that on at least one occasion, I have missed one of your e-mails as a direct consequence of my having to deal with unsolicited junk, so here I would like to explain the situation and show you how to get around the mail filtering which I have had to install.
I receive between 200 and 250 e-mails every day, the vast majority of which are junk. It has become cliché to say that if I responded to just a tenth of the e-mail I receive, I would be rich beyond my wildest imaginings, own a warehouse full of Canadian pharmaceuticals and have no right of modesty.
When I first went online, I made two mistakes: putting my e-mail address up on this website and posting on Usenet forums like alt.atheism.
At the root of my problems are little programs called bots, which trawl the Internet looking for valid e-mail addresses. By searching Usenet and recently updated web pages, these programs can compile lists of valid e-mail addresses, which are used by spammers to mass mail their victims.
Bots are in fact an important part of the Internet, because search engines like Google and BBCi use them to compile their lists. The reason Google and BBCi are so good is that they use an effective way of testing site contents for relevance. The problem with spambots is - as happens so often with the Internet - a useful technology has been subverted in the interests of a self indulgent minority, who can see no further than their wallets.
Spammers can vary tactically from pathetic to extremely devious and the content can be anything from harmless abuse to attempts to steal your credit card details. Quite often I receive emails purporting to be from Paypal or Ebay, asking me to confirm my credit card details and the first time I was very nearly fooled when I received one, so:
NEVER use a link from an e-mail to go to a site requesting confirmation of financial details!
Some of these emails are so well designed that it is easy to be fooled, so be careful! If you are worried that Paypal or whoever (including your bank) need details updated, then go to their site and log in as normal or e-mail the organisation with a query.
Bringing us back to the immediate situation, you can see that I have two problems to solve: making myself invisible to bots and getting your emails through all my filters.
To do this, I’ve reconfigured all the mail links on the website, so that when you click them, your e-mail comes up as in the picture below – minus the callout bubbles, of course:
In this case, I’ve got Word set up as my e-mail editor, but the principle is the same, whichever editor you use.
Firstly, you’ll see that in the To: field, my e-mail address has the letters NOSPAM inserted to stop my address showing as valid, so you have to go in this box and remove these letters. Be careful not to delete any other letters, otherwise the message won’t get to me.
Then, in the Subject: box, I’ve inserted the word STABLEFORD. This is your magic word, which ensures that whatever filters I put up, I will be able to spot your message.
So there you have it. Now you’ve read all this way, you might as well get in touch.
Regards,
(-: Ian :-)