PLEASE READ: Spamming list members...

Steve Avery (stevea@sedal.usyd.edu.AU)
Tue, 30 Apr 1996 11:18:04 +1000

Hi all,
It has been brought to my attention that commercial entities on the net
(nicest way I can phrase it) may have been using the recipients list
from alt-photo-process to find potential "buyers" and hound them with
unsolicited email. Personally, I detest such email and delete it once it
comes in, but for those of you that don't have the luxury of free
internet access, I can understand you may have strong feelings regarding
the cost of such email.

I can disable the RECIPIENTS command on the listproc so that the
subscribers list is no longer available. I don't give the list to
anyone, and it should be noted that it is possible to have a "hidden"
subscription which doesn't turn up on the list. However, the only true
reasons for having the command is:

1. to check if you're still subscribed, and
2. to check if a friend is subscribed (or what their email address is)

I figure that both of these functions can be served by other means (you
can ask me if you're subscribed, you can ask a friend if they're
subscribed, and you can post to the list if you're after someone's email
address (although I'd prefer you use the archives)).

So I'd like to know whether people have any serious objections to my
knocking this command on the head. As people become more net-aware, such
unsolicited email is likely to increase, and I'd like to nip it in the
bud.

Any comments would be appreciated.

cheers
-steve