Annoyed, and really would like to know the truth...

Is this just a place to gather up e-mail addresses to
spam people? Why don't you guys make it more secure? I
don't really like how one of you replied and told me to
give my e-mail address. Then you guys said, "HA! EXPECT
SPAM ON YOUR ACCOUNT NOW!" Is there any way I can ask you
guys questions without the public seeing? It's really
starting to annoy me.

Shenan
Fri Nov 28 15:05:09 CST 2003

Nadine <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:
> Is this just a place to gather up e-mail addresses to
> spam people? Why don't you guys make it more secure? I
> don't really like how one of you replied and told me to
> give my e-mail address. Then you guys said, "HA! EXPECT
> SPAM ON YOUR ACCOUNT NOW!" Is there any way I can ask you
> guys questions without the public seeing? It's really
> starting to annoy me.

You just did it (asked a question without the public seeing your email
address) and not only that, but I am pretty sure the web pages leading up to
the point where you post tell you how to do this as well.

As far as "us guys making it more secure" - "us guys" are volunteers - if
you can even call us that - answering questions here not because we work for
Microsoft, but because we hope that we can use our knowledge (what little we
have - heh) to help someone who does not have that knowledge.

--
Shenan Stanley
"Just trying to help"

Chris
Fri Nov 28 15:09:56 CST 2003

This is a peer support forum. I recommend obfuscating your email address -
having a forum that is open to the public brings in both the good and the
bad. There is no requirement to even post a valid email address, and if
somebody asks you for it, you should be dubious of their rationale. This
isn't designed to be a secure site - it's designed to share knowledge with
everybody. It's a bad idea to put an email address that you don't want
people to be able to read here. It's an equally bad idea to put a credit
card number up here. It's functionally equivalent to posting information on
a bulletin board that the entire world walks past every day.

--
Chris Jackson
Software Engineer
Microsoft MVP - Windows Client
Windows XP Associate Expert
--
More people read the newsgroups than read my email.
Reply to the newsgroup for a faster response.
(Control-G using Outlook Express)
--

"Nadine" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:900f01c3b5ed$ae0e8690$a601280a@phx.gbl...
> Is this just a place to gather up e-mail addresses to
> spam people? Why don't you guys make it more secure? I
> don't really like how one of you replied and told me to
> give my e-mail address. Then you guys said, "HA! EXPECT
> SPAM ON YOUR ACCOUNT NOW!" Is there any way I can ask you
> guys questions without the public seeing? It's really
> starting to annoy me.

N
Fri Nov 28 17:00:06 CST 2003

In article <900f01c3b5ed$ae0e8690$a601280a@phx.gbl>,
anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com says...
> Is this just a place to gather up e-mail addresses to
> spam people?

No; though spammers do use it so. That is why many of us don't use working
email addresses in our posts; disguising them, or using other tricks.

> Why don't you guys make it more secure?

There is no "you guys". The servers are accessible to any member of the
general public, and the groups are propagated across other servers not
controlled by Microsoft.

> I don't really like how one of you replied and told me to
> give my e-mail address. Then you guys said, "HA! EXPECT
> SPAM ON YOUR ACCOUNT NOW!"

It was unkind, yes. But it happens; the world is both cruel, and unfair.

> Is there any way I can ask you guys questions without the public seeing?
> It's really starting to annoy me.

No. These are, by design, accessible to the public. Anything that you post
here is visible to the public.

The truth: this is a public forum, open to any member of the public, however
unsavory they may be.

--
Norman
~Win dain a lotica, En vai tu ri, Si lo ta
~Fin dein a loluca, En dragu a sei lain
~Vi fa-ru les shutai am, En riga-lint

anonymous
Fri Nov 28 19:06:08 CST 2003

Have you read any of the hundreds or more posts about this subject in this newsgroup, or did you simply spout off with your head up your rectum

----- Nadine wrote: ----

Is this just a place to gather up e-mail addresses to
spam people? Why don't you guys make it more secure? I
don't really like how one of you replied and told me to
give my e-mail address. Then you guys said, "HA! EXPECT
SPAM ON YOUR ACCOUNT NOW!" Is there any way I can ask you
guys questions without the public seeing? It's really
starting to annoy me

Ozgirl
Fri Nov 28 19:07:36 CST 2003


"Nadine" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
message news:900f01c3b5ed$ae0e8690$a601280a@phx.gbl...
> Is this just a place to gather up e-mail addresses to
> spam people? Why don't you guys make it more secure?
I
> don't really like how one of you replied and told me
to
> give my e-mail address. Then you guys said, "HA!
EXPECT
> SPAM ON YOUR ACCOUNT NOW!" Is there any way I can ask
you
> guys questions without the public seeing? It's really
> starting to annoy me.

I am annoyed that you came in here half cocked abusing
volunteers who have nothing to do with
Microsoft. There has been the ability to harvest email
addresses from newsgroups (not just Microsoft)
for more years than I can remember. Is always better
to check facts first before criticising people. You
used
your real address, sadly you suffer the consequences.
Sure you were ignorant of the fact but for future
reference,
always read a lot of posts in newsgroups before
posting. If you had you would have noticed thousands
of messages
relating to that subject.