Editorial: Major Problems Caused Twice Three FOUR Times By Spamcop

Imagine if the police stopped a bank robbery by telling the bank manager there was a suspect in the building. The manager takes no chances and shoots every legitimate customer unfortunate enough to be present at the time. Why? Because the manager knows the police would shut the entire bank down if the manager didn't act fast enough to eliminate the suspect. So, the customers are dead through no fault of their own. The manager acts out of fear to protect the bank's business with remaining customers. Imagine the police say they don't tell the manager how to react, and that their list of suspects contains some errors. They receive public approval for their work stopping bank robbers. The collateral damage is covered up.

It isn't supposed to happen that way.

Well, that is - in effect - the way Spamcop seems to work. Blocking vile spam may be praiseworthy if done correctly, but damage to many other innocent bystanders is a dirty secret being covered up and ignored.

(1) Most recently, this site's newsletter - pure science history and education content that is obviously not spam - has been undeservedly blocked by their blacklist used by email postmasters around the world. Result? The site's mailbox is filled with bounced mail. Wastes more time than spam to open every one and check to find any that have messages that do need attention. Seem like irony? Spamcop's blacklist has filled the mailbox with time-wasting email.

Not once, not twice, not three times, but FOUR times now. When will this interference stop?

The reason? Because this is a small site that like most others, it pays an ISP an affordable price by sharing a server. When SOMEONE ELSE - nothing to do with this site - on the server sent mail alleged to be spam, Spamcop added the entire mail server to their blacklist so EVERY user of the server is held hostage until the ISP can sort it out. Why should that happen? Our email address is unique... that means different from whomever Spamcop was after. No matter. Spamcop stands by while everyone on the server is blocked before identifying the true problem. Collective punishment.

Spamcop says ISPs are only given the blacklist as recommendations, letting ISPs exercise their choice whether to act on it or not. Or letting their customers choose. Does the Post Office burn the snail mail of everyone in the neighbourhood because one unknown person sent junk mail that a group without police authority said they didn't like? 

Email has become different. Innocent bystanders die for the greater good.

Spamcop offers no compensation for collateral damage. It disclaims responsibility by saying their list is not perfectly accurate. That's a cop-out.

How would you feel about your local police being self-satisfied and getting away with not being perfectly accurate about who gets shot during a bank robbery?

"If you threaten legal action," says their site, "we will have to refer your email to our legal department, which will delay any action we might otherwise have taken." In other words, they tell you they "will" knowingly injure you more, by increasing the time taken for correction. Notice "will delay" is not wishy-washy like "might delay." Is that a threat to deter accountability?

(2) A couple of years ago, this website was shut down for at least 3 days. Why? A totally unrelated company, not even using the same ISP, had used a quote on science from our website in their legitimate subscriber-requested double opt-in newsletter. Being a legitimate business, convention was followed, and the quote was attributed to the URL of this site. That other company was not spamming. Apparently, one of their subscribers, who had actively requested that company's newsletter mailing, was too lazy or ill-informed to simply use the conventional unsubscribe routine and had initiated a Spamcop entry instead.

Perhaps that individual thought he was acting to block only his own account. Nope! Spamcop added to their blacklist not just the newletter source itself, but EVERY website link mentioned on that newsletter. Remember, even the newsletter itself was not spam. Our site did not ask for a link, had nothing to do with that newsletter, but ended up with a three day hassle through the ISP before it was sorted out. An estimated ten thousand visitors saw a "domain names for sale" page instead of our science history education pages. Our site looked as if it no longer existed. How did Spamcop justify their action? A representative said their policy was to blacklist our site because just the mention of the URL in someone else's newsletter would drive traffic to the site, and traffic was an undeserved benefit!!!  But this is a not-for-profit science education site! No matter, he said, no exceptions - the site had to suffer the consequences. Guilt by association. No apologies. Blame the ISP, he said, it was their choice to act or not on Spamcop's notice.

The website was closed by the ISP without contacting the webmaster. Dead. Shoot first, ask questions later. So, did the ISP switch the site back on immediately the true situation was known? Nope. It wasn't really their free choice. There were days of delay while the ISP (they said) made absolutely sure Spamcop would be satisfied, and there was no possibility that Spamcop would send a negative notice to the upline provider above the ISP. To be cut off at the higher node would cripple the entire ISP operation*. Since that would affect their entire customer base - everybody on all their servers - they bluntly said their operation was far too big and would take no chances.

Clearly, the ISP was intimidated by Spamcop. So this web site was toasted for as long as it took to sort out with Spamcop, because one site was nothing again the entire company's business.  (Our host now is not the same ISP.)

Please, don't praise Spamcop for the holy crusade on spam when the collateral damage is high and uncontrolled. Withhold the praise until a more conscientious, effective method is used. Meanwhile too much uninformed praise causes blindness and deafness while Spamcop continues to bludgeon the innocent.

If this raises your awareness, and want to know more about the extent of the problems, use Google. Try keywords "Spamcop problems" - over 63,000 results. "Spamcop gestapo" - over 1000 results. The horror stories are out there. Does anybody care?

Why take the time to write all this? Because real spammers are the most vile, selfish, parasitic lifeforms that slither in the dung of the earth. Thus, to be put on a blacklist - and you are not a spammer - makes you feel so unclean. You have been unjustly put in jail with society's lepers and you feel their oozing sores contaminate you. Out, out damn spot! What do you do to feel clean again?

Disclaimer: The content of this editorial expresses the opinion of the writer. It may contain errors. Sorry about that. It's your choice whether you believe it or not.

*See also: http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/?p=23