Handspinning Dog Hair
How often have you wondered what could be done with all the excess fluff you've been combing out of your dog?

Hands Free Phone Adapter
Yet more proof that there are still some freebies on the Web. This generic hands-free phone adapter is said to fit all makes and models.

Can Spam Go Legit?
Spam, unsolicited commercial email, junk email -- call it what you like but it's the bane of everyone who has an email address.

Not only is it an irritating waste of time, bandwidth and money, but it's also the cornerstone of many scams and deceptions.

Readers Say (updated hourly) From Yesterday... Online tutorial... - David ISP tutorial... - Peter Caller ID... - Michael Have Your Say

Of course, depending on who you talk to, spam means different things to different people.

To you and I it's probably any sales-pitch or chain letter that turns up in our mailbox without our permission.

To a spammer -- it's anything other than the email they have sent you promoting their new super diet, male member-extender, co-ed dorm covert cameras or whatever.

Most people now use some form of spam filtering -- either by subscribing to a service or ISP that weeds out much of the garbage, or by setting up their own email client to dump easily recognised junk email.

Some time ago there was even a move to force spammers to use the abbreviation 'ADVT' in the subject line of their emails -- but of course the few who bothered to follow this suggestion found their messages became even easier to filter out automatically.

I suspect the very same thing will happen with the latest initiative from groups that would call themselves legitimate email marketers (as opposed to spammers).

TRUSTe and another group known as ePrivacy are promoting a concept that would see "legitimate" email marketing communications identified by way of a special electronic stamp.

This endorsement would, according to its proponents, allow email filters to "identify the good (e-mails) so they can be elevated."

Excuse me for chuckling to myself at this point -- but I know for sure that any unsolicited commercial emails I received with this stamp would be automatically deleted.

And what's TRUSTe's track record like? Is it perhaps yet another organisation designed to make money by providing endorsements of dubious value?

These usenet postings 1, 2 seem to indicate that not everyone holds them in high regard and this CNN story suggests that they're not the sharpest knife in the draw either.

Need more proof that these specially endorsed marketing emails might deserve automatic deletion? Well guess who have already agreed to get behind the programme? Yes -- Microsoft and DoubleClick -- two companies that have already been dragged over the coals for poor privacy practices and bad online marketing tactics.

So will this attempt to legitimise junk email work?

Hell no -- those of us who are already sagging under the weight of spam-laden mailboxes will find these easy-to-filter messages easiest to filter out and delete. As a result, those who would send you unsolicited marketing messages using email will find the whole thing counterproductive.

And, of course, 99% of spammers who really don't give a stuff about the problems, costs and annoyance they create are never going to sign up anyway.

Much as I hate the idea of legislative control over the Net, I think the only way to deal with spam is to introduce an international treaty that gives the recipients of spam a right to sue and claim massive punitive damages across international borders. This would create a great industry for the small percentage of lawyers who presently specialise in chasing ambulances -- they could take on these cases for a share of the rewards.

Those spammed might get some money, the lawyers would be kept off the streets, and those who would spam us might think again before they waste our resources.

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