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Frustrated with Spam Frustration

By Dan Furman

I'm frustrated.

Not at spam, which is what a glance at the title might suggest, but I'm frustrated with other people's frustration at spam. See, I just got another important e-mail bounced back to me by a client's "spam blocker".

Why my message was flagged as SPAM I'll never know:
  • I wasn't offering any deals on real estate or financing
  • No drugs for melting fat or growing hair were involved
  • And I wasn't offering to make any body parts larger or firmer
Still, my important business e-mail was flagged as spam. I tried to call my client to get another e-mail address or tell him to turn off his spam blocker, but he was out.

Later, when we finally talked, I convinced him that spam blocking software was a bad idea.

I have to say, I'm puzzled. I do not understand this fanatical aversion to junk e-mail. Has "delete" become THAT hard to press?

To be honest, my client couldn't even tell me why he felt the need to protect himself from spam. He just figured it was something that needed to be stopped. By the way, I thanked him for the inspiration to this article - he laughed and said "don't mention my name."

Anyway, I'm not talking about viruses or anything like that. I'm talking about this odd attitude that SPAM MUST BE STOPPED AT ALL COSTS!!! Even at the risk of losing legitimate e-mails.

Because, if you logically think about it, there's no foolproof way for software to determine what is or isn't a legitimate e-mail. The best "spam blockers" claim things like "95% accurate".... well, that sounds nice until you realize that also means "5% completely INaccurate."

Let me ask you something - would you be comfortable asking your mail carrier to sort through your mail and throw away anything he or she thinks is junk mail?

Really, would you? Would you go up to your mail carrier and say "Hey (insert your mail carrier's name), I was wondering if you'd look over my mail and just throw away anything you think is junk before putting it in my mailbox?"

I realize not all of you are on a first name basis with your mail carrier. Still, I think my point is clear.

Of course you wouldn't say that.

So why would you trust some "spam blocker" to sort your e-mail?

I don't know about you, but I can't afford to lose 5% of my important business e-mails. I can't afford even 1% of them being lost. Trust me - you can't either. So turn off the spam blocker and use your delete key.

By the way, did you know THIS is where the term SPAM for junk e-mail originated from?

Spam spam spam spam, spam spam spam spam, lovely spam, wonderful spam

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