Recruiter spam

[Peter Corlett]

On Fri, May 23, 2008 at 05:36:09PM +0100, Simon Wilcox wrote:
[...]
> Spam is more correctly the name given to the mass mailout of email with
> disguised from addresses.

Not correct enough, really. People occasionally cock up the configuration of
their mailing list manager, for example, and subscribers to the list get
crud in the headers until it's noticed.

Where a precise definition is required, it's usually Unsolicited Bulk Email
(UBE). Whether or not a message is commercial or has a correct or forged
sender is irrelevant. It's unsolicited, and sent out in bulk, and those are
the necessary and sufficient conditions.

> I should have said UCE instead of spam as it wasn't a bulk email but an
> unsolicited commercial communication sent specifically to me.

UCE is arguably fine, provided it is not also UBE.

If, for example, I casually mention on uknot that it's probably about time I
gave my colo box a forklift upgrade, a quick off-list note from another
subscriber suggesting one of their products wouldn't be out of place and may
well be welcome.