Joe Howell wrote:

> What is the netiqettely correct (NC) response to un-solicited
> advertisements on the net.  I get TONS of these daily.

Unless you know *exactly* what you're doing, notify someone at your
ISP or site who works with mail and forward them the *entire* message
including *ALL* message headers for analysis, and state your complaint.
If you don't have ALL headers available, you can't make any assumptions.
The latest "fad" is to "mail-bomb" innocent victims by forging messages
from them in such spams, or subscriptions to listserv lists, etc.  I'll
refrain from going into details and wasting bandwidth.

> For example BuyByNet, Inc at [log in to unmask] sends astrology
> listings and wants me to send back "remove" to remove me from their
> automatic system.  I don't want to get their spam, I don't want
> to have to reply to their automatic process.

There are two (maybe three) schools of thought:
* if you send back "remove" you may only serve to validate your address,
* if you send back "remove" and they remove you, you are serving to
  validate their marketing methods of mass, unsolited commercial e-mail,
* you should take action to have them stopped/shutdown (on your own
  if you know how, or by forwarding your case to someone knowledgeable
  on your side, such as your ISP administration or postmaster).  You
  should not have to "remove" since you never asked to be "added" in the
  first place.

> How do you discourage companies like this in a gentle yet properly
> persuasive fashion?

If you can authenticate the origin and validate the Received: trail,
you work your way backwards until you get someone co-operative.  Often
these "junk mails" are "injected" to the Internet on some completely
irrelevant ISP's PPP dialup connection.  In your example above, the
mail probably didn't originate at "airmail.net" but could instead have
been injected at any number of PPP sites (signup for a trial account,
inject your spam, disappear from sight).  Then "airmail.net" simply says
"it didn't come from here, we don't allow/condone spam!".  Yeah, right.

> Joe "Gee I got up on a grumpy mood today" Howell

Jeff "frying spam is part of my job" Kell <[log in to unmask]>

> Not knowing the proper response, I sent the guy 200 remove msgs.
> Probably didn't accomplish anything, but I feel better now.

Not recommended.

> PPS anyone who wants to help me discourage these guys is free to
> bring out the flame throwers!  -:)))

If you can send me a complete message, headers intact, I'll program a
few cruise missiles for you, time permitting.