[9481] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
The harvesting of lists...
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Daniel P Dern)
Thu Jan 6 18:24:44 1994
Date: Thu, 6 Jan 1994 18:17:01 -0500
From: ddern@world.std.com (Daniel P Dern)
To: com-priv@psi.com
Ya gotta wonder at the [lack of ] brains involved.
Did anyone at Inmac stop to wonder, hey, do we think that
300-1000 employees at this "World" place are all possible
prospects for our stuff?
Granted, no human being ever looked at it.
This mindless harvesting and re-use of lists is endemic.
I'm still getting press releases from organizations who
think I might be in charge of the LAN section for MIS Week,
a magazine that died an honorable death four years ago or whatever.
Wandel & Gottman or whatever sends to my older address several
releases every month, bundled up in fat envelopes, full with
photos, heavy cardboard, etc. Of stupidity there is no end.
(In my PR column in Computer Media Review, I periodically plead
that organizations do a 1X or 2X year postcard based list
review with positive verification for continued presence.
At least 2 companies actually do this. Out of thousands :-()
Similarly, in prereigstering for a local Mac expo as press,
I got unrequestedly added to a frightening amount of
mailing lists unasked. I don't even _own_ a Mac; I just
see them on TV. Vendors have even sent free software, which,
being unrequested, gets given away to Mac-owning friends.
(Not a lot of this, it is rare.)
List visibility is a problem we do face, esp. as global
whois stuff emerges. OTOH, we already have this problem
via the availability of phone books on CD-ROM, the
Lotus Marketplace debacle of the past year or three
(see back issues of RISKS). I'd think that topic
oriented forums offer more oppty/risk for targetted
harvesting. (Let's see, here's a list of everyone
who posts to .comics and includes "Batman" in their
message...)
Sigh. YA 'death of the net.' :-( :-(
DPD
"It is, it is a glorious thing to be a pirate king."
