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To: Gottfried who wrote (21010)	6/26/2001 1:46:57 AM
From: mr.mark	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110652

gott earlier i mentioned that... "perhaps i will have time to search out some articles on spam that allude to this premise (that deleting unopened mail is preferable to deleting opened mail). i did send email to the author of one such article, asking for her opinion on the subject" tonight i received an answer from this individual, and it supports what i have said regarding spammers knowing if you have opened their mail. i will post a link to her article on spam (it's quite informative and for that reason i decided that she might be a good person to pose my question to. i got lucky, in that i only emailed one writer, AND i got a reply). the piece is titled The fight to digest spam There are ways, not foolproof, to avoid unsolicited email Bangkok Post February 21, 2001 Wanda Sloan scoop.bangkokpost.co.th next, my email to wanda, then her reply... ******************************* "Subject: deleting spam a benefit? Date: Sun, 24 Jun 2001 23:57:37 -0700 From: mark <mrmark@saber.net> To: wandas@post.com hi i just read your excellent piece on spam here scoop.bangkokpost.co.th please tell me if, in your opinion, it makes a difference if i delete spam before opening it? i have heard that spammers can tell (whether by way of receipts or by some other means) when their sent emails have been opened, and these addresses are more valuable to them. i am very careful using netscape messenger to delete spam prior to opening, for this reason. am i wasting my time? is this a myth (that spammers know whether i have opened their mail)? hope to hear from you! thank you :) mark" *************************** "Subject: Re: deleting spam a benefit? Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2001 11:15:14 +0700 From: Wanda Sloan <wandas@post.com> To: mark <mrmark@saber.net> At 11:57 PM 24-06-01 -0700, you wrote: Hi Mark, thanks for the mail. It's nice to know someone is reading. >please tell me if, in your opinion, it makes a difference if i delete >spam before opening it? i have heard that spammers can tell (whether by There is a way to track mail now, yes. That is one reason that spammers use HTML format. They cannot tell, however, if you download it, they only can tell if you actually open it. I wouldn't be quite so paranoid, myself. Spammers want "good" names, of course, but you probably cannot affect the flow of spam very much. However, deleting mail before you even download it has lots of advantages INCLUDING spam so go ahead if it is helpful to you. Best regards WS" ****************************** i have not researched (documented) this subject beyond what i have posted here. if others have more to add, i'd love to hear it. i know that the above info is just one example of many i have read that states that spammers know if their mail has been opened. :) mark

To: Gottfried who wrote (21010)	6/26/2001 2:12:51 AM
From: mr.mark	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110652

gottfried re, "Far more important is how to reduce the amount of spam arriving in my inbox" we share a common goal. and this has been my focus. by deleting unopened email, i am certain that the inflow is effected. (i envision it being like firewalls that stealth a pc, so that scanners do not even know a machine exists. as you know, if a port is just closed, the scanner knows it's there, locked, and will continue to try in the hopes of finding it open one day. if i open the mail, then delete it, the spammer knows i'm home, and will be persistent in his or her efforts to get me to reply. stealth is discouragement, or more accurately, defeat. the spammer decides the inbox is dead.) i see the same addresses for a brief period of time, then they seem to give up, never to show up again. whether it is my imagination, i do not know, but it seems to me that my method is helping to stem the tide, thus my desire to share it here with others. :) mark