DON'T SOLICIT ME!!!
 

I use my real email address because I am happy to receive more specific questions from others on the forums. However, today I was shocked to receive solicitations from two parties who could only have gotten my name from these pages. That is NOT what we are here for! <BR> <BR>I am posting this message on all forum sections, and notifying Fodors, and I suggest others do the same if a similar thing happens. This is a community that benefits from respect for privacy. Please don't violate our trust.

Good points, Robin. I used to use my real name and email address on the Forum but got a really weird personal reply to one of my posts, so I don't feel safe doing that anymore.

I agree this is becoming a problem. Yesterday, I received an e-mail from [email protected], trying to direct me to his painting website www.davidschor.com. <BR> <BR>He states he justs wants you to enjoy his painting, but they just happen to be for sale. Please do not reward this man for violating our trust in the Fodor community.

Technology is developing so fast that privacy issues can not keep up the pace. While I completely sympathize with Robin, the matter is not as easily preventable as just posting your desire not to receive unsolicited e-mail. Other companies will continue to send you stuff. Unsolicited e-mail has to include a procedure for the recipient to be REMOVE from their mailing lists. Usually these are at the bottom of the message. Other than that, it appears that once you post your e-mail address, it is consider fair game.

I had spam from the same punk painter, David Schor. <BR> <BR>Ben Haines

I got one too. It seems to be poetic justice that the same site from where he "pirated" the e-mail addresses be also the site to vent against his site/product....

Got one from above mentioned "artist" but just blocked sender and he had to get my address from this site as I have a work email address that I use for business but this one is just for travel and exchanging info'on where to travel etc. It is a pity that this forum is beginning to follow the route of others. <BR> <BR>Fodors please take note of this individual's email address and send him a nasty don't do this again please note, and copy it to his ISP. <BR>Cathy

David, if you're reading this then please take heed. You spammed me as well, it didn't work as I make it a rule never to investigate what a spammer is offering me - nor do I suspect did many others from this forum that you also spammed. <BR> <BR>Leave it out.

I've gotten email from him as well. I guess I didn't block it because my late brother-in-law was an artist and the gallery that carried his artwork used the internet a lot. I probably will block it the next time I get one, because I visited the site and he really isn't very good.

Hey, folks. I have also received SPAM from people/organizations who could've only gotten my email from my Fodors postings. Just wanted to warn you about something: <BR> <BR>DO NOT click on the "Remove" option the Spammer includes with his message!!!!!!!!!!!!! This will only indicate to the Spammer that he has reached a valid address. The unsolicited email will never stop!!!! <BR> <BR>INSTEAD, use your own "BLOCK SENDER" option to block the Spammer's email address. <BR> <BR>This is ALWAYS the safer option when you receive SPAM. I have been told this over and over and over, by friends of mine who work in the computer and software industries. PROTECT YOUR OWN PRIVACY and at the same time, HELP STAMP OUT SPAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is definitely time for Congress to step of the limitations on spammers. A few years ago Congress began the process but were lobbied by direct seller scum who thought they had the right to infringe upon everyone privacy. <BR> <BR>So Congress eased off and required that the spammer have a return address and a "Remove" provision. However, not only has this been a worthless process, since many spammers make sure their box is full and will not accept remove messages; this process also hurts the innocent people, because as mentioned in a previous post, clicking the "Remove" option, only serves to confirm to the spammer that they have hit a valid e-mail address. The result is that your address is repeatedly resold to other scum spammers. <BR> <BR>The latest trick is a Remove provision that will lock up the outgoing send box of your mailer, so that the only way you can send other mail is to first, delete your attempts to "remove" the spam from your send box. <BR> <BR>If I ever meet one of these spammer, I am going to beat the holy shit out of him. It is that simple. <BR> <BR>

I once received so much porn and get-rich-quick garbage that I had to change my e-mail address. Dozens of such messages daily, and it took too much time to try to block them all. <BR> <BR>So I have a new rule now: I guard my e-mail address the way I guard my social security number. Very few people really need it. I think that's the best way to protect oneself these days. I have said before and will say again: I think Fodors should change this site to eliminate the e-mail address box. It tends to lure new visitors to post their real e-mail addresses, which will be promptly lifted and abused.

Here..Here! Let me add my name..(oops, not going to do that!)..to this growing list of unhappy posters at Fodors. <BR>I, too, can positively trace my first spam e-mails after using my real e-mail on this website 3 times. I no longer do so yet after several months I continue to receive at least 3 spam e-mails daily as my information is resold and resold and resold. I'm furious. There's been discussion on these forums that Fodors REQUIRE real names and addresses to prevent insulting and even obscene posts. The day Fodors implements such a requirement is the day of my last post of free travel advice. <BR> <BR>Are you reading this thread, Fodors??!!

I usually post my name and e-mail address and will continue do to so because I get legitement questions from other travelers, just not on this thread. I also got the same spam and deleted it. Did not go to his site and will not go to any advertised site on unsolicited ads. <BR>

I did not receive this particular spam but what I have been getting recently is junk mail that appears to be from my own email address! This seems similar to someone forging my signature. According to the Hotmail folks, the only thing I can do is block it.

I got the same artist e-mail mentioned above. I did check out his site briefly, although I almost always delete these messages immediately. As someone who works in marketing, I started thinking about the ethics of this a lot and still haven't made up my mind on it. I am interested in why people hate receiving spam so much. What makes it different than junk mail you get in the mailbox? To me, the e-mails are less trouble when it comes to disposal. The only real differences I can see are: (1) the e-mails more often don't fit the recipient's interests and (2) the spam is not paid for like a mailing list would be, and (3) you get a lot of porn, which you would not receive unsolicited through the mail (still that is only a problem if you or especially your children open it). Of course, one other problem is viruses, but that is somewhat of a different issue. Any thoughts on this?

We would prefer not to receive actual junk mail either. However, another problem with spam is that it ties of bandwith and might have virus as you indicated. <BR> <BR>In addition, some internet providers place a daily limits on the amount of incoming and outgoing e-mail per day. Anything beyond those limits, result in a per message charge.

Dan, I'll have a crack at this. <BR> <BR>Spam annoys me and junk mail annoys me, too. The difference is that I monitor my e-mail closely for business reasons. So if I hear that little "e-mail received" noise, I check it immediately, only to find I have been snookered by someone seeking to sell me something. Junk mail is bad, but I can recognize it immediately, and because I read my mail sitting next to the trash, the junk mail just goes there unopened, hopefully in one big handful. <BR> <BR>Also, I get a lot of e-legitimate mail, and I save deleted messages for a while in case I later need something. Eventually I have to clean out my delete file. So I have to delete the spam twice instead of once. <BR> <BR>The world would be a better place without junk mail. Adding spam to the mix just makes the whole problem twice as annoying for me.

Here in London I get both junk mailbox mail and spam e-mail. I dislike both equally. I suppose that one aspect is that junk mailis almostalways wholly recognisable, with such stupid markings on the envelope as "Don't miss this offer". There are signs which suggest that e-mail is spam, and I wipe quite a few messages daily unread, relying on those signs. But a clever huckster, like our punk painter, avoids those signs, and get past me, as far as the first few lines. Upon which I delete. (So actually when I wrote I didn't know for certain that he is punk: I learnt that later, in this correspondence). <BR> <BR>Even Spam subject headings are annoying, since most assume that I am specially interested in pornography (as you say), employment, or cheap loans. I'm not sex-starved, jobless, nor broke, and dislike the suggestion that I am. <BR>Moreover, they take time to download when I look for new e-mail in the morning, and until Christmas or so I'm paying four pence a minute while on-line <BR> <BR>If you were ethical you'd loose money. If you were, you would simply place before each spam e-mail subject the letters ADV. Some folk do -- well done. <BR> <BR>I expect we write from different premises. I find your trade sad. I expect you find me out of touch with the world benefits of selling. Nonetheless, please write if I can clarify any point. <BR> <BR>Ben Haines,London <BR> <BR>

I'm here at fodors all the time and recently also received an email from the "artist." I looked at his web site for a minute, then deleted his email without responding. I was going to write to him asking him where he got my email address, but then I found this posting. <BR> <BR>I don't get too many junk emails, but we once had to change our email address. <BR> <BR>I don't know anything about "block sender" emails. Can someone tell me how to do that?