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Archiver > GenTips > 2000-02 > 0951013137


From: "Barbara Jean Green" <>
Subject: [GT] FWD; FWD; FWD - Why to Stop!
Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2000 21:18:57 -0500


Why NOT to send FORWARDS with lots of peoples' names and addresses????

...It is easy for someone down the chain to "harvest" the addresses that are
listed and sell them, or Spam them!

Let's say that you directly FORWARD the mail without editing it...to another
10 people...and those 10 do the same, and so forth.

It would take very little time (in fact, minutes) to get hundreds of
addresses on the mail. This DOES happen as some chain mail has 10 levels of
attached e-mails with (an estimated) 50 addresses in each.

There are those on the Internet who "pull" addresses out and sell them to
porn spammers for a nice fee. It is very likely all of these addresses
would be valid.

So, what I do in a case like that is this:

To: "The Fish in the Pond" <>
(It makes most e-mail programs just say what's in the quotes while replying
will go to me.)

Bcc: , ,
(...hides the address list)

Subject: FW: You just HAVE to read this!
(...normal old Forward Subject, but with only ONE FW: in it....)

Body: .......

Try it. You'll like it!

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