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At
Omega Communications we are well aware of an annoying by-product
of the Internet called: SPAM. Emails that seem to flood your
email account box with promises of riches, miracle cures and offers
that we refer to as "junk mail".
We
have a policy against unsolicited emails that constitute abuse of
our service (read
the excerpt from Omega Communications, Inc. Terms Of Service
).
Large
bona fide etailers such as Microsoft and Amazon for example will
never sell your name to bulk emailers. If you "submit"
your name or "register" to a site, they usually give you
a choice if you wish to receive future mailings.
This
is referred to as "opting in"
Many
times the default on the form you fill out is set to "Opt In".
Make sure you look for that and click it to deactivate that function
if you choose not to receive these email offers.
In
all cases, a bona fide source will always give you a valid opportunity
to be removed from the mailing list.
Please
read the privacy policy if you are not sure of the validity of the
service being provided.
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TIPS:
We have some tools in place that
can assist you in filtering other unwanted messages.
1.
DO NOT RESPOND to these messages even when the state that you
can be "removed from the list".
In
many cases the spammers use an algorithm that allows then to cull
names and even make up names that may or may not be valid from an
ISP.
If
you "respond" to them by hitting "reply" they
in effect "gotcha" as a valid name on their list. Even
if you are removed from that list, they can turn around and place
you on another list! (yes, spammers have no scruples)
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2.
USE YOUR EMAIL SOFTWARE OR OUR WEB MESSAGING CENTER TO FILTER YOUR
EMAIL:
Go
to the
web messaging center for your service and log in. Select "change
processing rules"
Hit
"ADD" to create a rule.
SELECT
A FIELD that you want scanned (subject, body, from etc).
TYPE
IN WORD OR PHRASE that you want the scan to block out.
SELECT
MAIL BOX that you want all messages with your "blocked word
or phrase" to go to.
NOTE:
If you select DELETE, the message will be permanently deleted before
you can review it. (see next tip)
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3.
CREATE A MAIL BOX OR A FOLDER JUST FOR JUNK MAIL WHERE YOU CAN "MASS"
DELETE JUNK MAIL WITH A FEW CLICKS.
If
you are afraid that sending messages directly into the delete bin
you may risk deleting "wanted" messages, you can choose
to create a new mail box within your Web Messaging account or a
folder in your email software and call it (i.e) "junk mail".
You
can then choose to send all the "make money" (etc) emails
to this "junk mail" folder/box. Once you receive mail,
you can view that box or folder, scan all the headers/subjects and
delete the junk mails all at one time by holding the "shift"
key, selecting them and deleting.
Please
note, if you create a mail box and choose to send junk email
there, you are responsible for keeping ALL of your email boxes within
your allotted storage space. If not, your mail box will continue
to fill up and future messages (good and bad) will get blocked because
you have run out of room on your account.
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Should
I just change my email name?
Changing
your email account name is to be used as a last resort. Keep in
mind that even if you change your name, the spam will still begin
to find its way into your email box.
We
encourage you to try out the methods above and if you are still
not having any great results the last resort is to change your email
account name but take precautions.
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Why
doesn't Omega just filter the emails for me?
We
are presented with numerous problems if we try to block spam.
If
we inadvertantly block an email from a list that has valid subscribers
we run the risk of breaking "Denial of Service" laws.
Denial of Service laws prohibit us from blocking email that may
be from an authorized source. It is impossible for us to acertain
which lists you have subscribed to and which you consider junk or
spam mail.
Read
about Censorship vs. Blocking.
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Why
can't Omega monitor emails and block those that seem to be going
to hundreds of customers?
Try
this scenario: Your cousin sends an email to his entire list of
100 extended family members announcing a family reunion, we block
it thinking it must be spam...
It
would be impossible for us to determine on a minute to minute basis
out of the many thousands of emails that flow through our services
each day what each of our customers consider spam and what emails
are sent because someone has"opted in" to receive such
messages.
Hopefully
now you are beginning to see the difficulty we are faced with. Not
to mention the associated costs that would result in monitoring
each and every email that passes through our systems.
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Isn't
Spam protected by the First Amendment?
No,
not particularly. The First Amendment protects your rights to speak
freely, it does not guarantee you a platform that forces people
to listen to you. Especially one that potentially costs you money!
If a spammer is sending you email, the ISP has to allot bandwidth,
you are paying for your time online and for the bandwidth costs
for the ISP to stay in business.
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Isn't
blocking Spam considered Censorship?
Censoring
is rating or prohibiting based on content. Blocking is putting the
content where it belongs--only with those who act in order to read
it.
If
you haven't "Opted In" to receive the information you
are perfectly within your rights to block it out. The spammer can't
acuse you for censoring them if you didn't request it in the first
place. Especially when they turn around and resell or reuse your
name on another list when you attempt to "Opt Out"!
That
also helps to explain why Omega can't simply block or filter mass
emails or emails we might consider offensive. It is not our place
to judge what you have opted to receive.
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LAWS
AND SITES THAT FIGHT SPAM:
There
are many organizations fighting the scourge of spam and they need
your support in reporting spammers and abusers.
If
this seems like an impossible task, take heart, the government has
heard the call and has passed laws making unsolicted faxes a federally
prosecutable offense since 1991. (Read : U.S.
Federal law ) Many state
laws also prohibit prohibit the practice.
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