Unsolicited email- Avsim you may have an email spider

[Guest]

Just letting you guys know, I've been bombarded with emails from someone named Carmine, of fsfactory.com. I have not posted my email anywhere in the past 4 months, so the only way they could have gotten it is by sitting down and collecting emails for hours, or having a mail spider crawl through and jot down everything it sees. I'm sort of upset, since now I may have just been added to even more unsolicited email databases... And I already get enough crap in my Inbox as it is. The letter is as follows:Dear Avsim user,My name is Carmine & I got your email off of Avsim.com.I am writing this personal message to let you know that I have created anew website for Flight Simulation enthusiasts like myself as well as thehome website for Earl Kramer's Beechcraft Starship Project.Latest Information on the Starship is that it will be very photorealisticand completely modeled in GMAX.I thought you might want to drop by and add my site to your list of dailyvisits along with avsim.com.I enjoy Avsim and stop there every day but I like other places to visit aswell is why we created it.This is just a personal note from one Avsim user to another!The web address is: WWW.FSFACTORY.COMWe have a very good message forum as well where you are free to talk aboutanything you want with very relaxed restrictions.Also, if you have or are part of a virtual airline we can create a forumjust for you!There's not a lot there right now, but with your support and spreading theword, we can grow.If you are designing any kind of add-on for any simulator and want a home,let us know as well.I am a Certified Private Pilot with about 200 hrs. in single engine 152's,172's, & PA-28-140's as well as Traumahawks! :)THIS IS NOT A SALES PITCH IN ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM NOR AM I INFERRING TOSWITCH ANYTHING!I look forward to seeing you on www.fsfactory.com as well as onwww.avsim.com!Sincerely,Carminewebmaster@fsfactory.comwww.fsfactory.comEnd of email-----------------------------------CheersCory

[Guest drobson]

I received the same unsolicited message. It appears that he is surfing the forums and grabbing addresses from whatever means is available, and then sending out the spam.Darrell

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[link:flightsimmers.net/airport/dkrobson1/downloads.htm]Netscape users click here!]Downloads, (the best DC-10 and 737-200 sounds available), links, fs forum, polls. [/center

[Guest]

Cory,In your preferences on Avsim, I was able to post a message to your email address.I did not do anything out of the ordinary as I went to each user and clicked on their email address and sent a message is all.As far as being bombarded, I cannot understand because I sent only 1 email.Please let me know what happened?Carmine "The Big Ragu" :-coolhttp://www.fsfactory.com/images/fsfactory-logo2.gif

[Guest phil]

Got the exact same message Cory, but only once so far, just hope I don't end up being bombarded with them! :-eekEarl has also taken to doing a bit of self-promotion on the MSFS forum] as well. Not a very auspicious start to his new adventure. Wonder how long his "wonderful free speech simulation forum"[/i will last if people start denigrating his Starship and berating Carmine for the spam? :-roll

[Guest]

Wait a minute.If you are a member of a community and I am a member of a community and I say it's ok for other people to send me mail from the same community and you send me harmless email about information you have available about flight simming, what is wrong with that?And that is ALL I DID! Carmine "The Big Ragu" :-coolhttp://www.fsfactory.com/images/fsfactory-logo2.gif

[Guest]

THERE IS NO BOMBARDMENT!I don't know where that came from.I'm SORRY if people are Upset but I didn't send anything harmful and all I was doing was talking to fellow Avsim members about another place to visit is all! EVERY SINGLE person here has a banner or so with a link to another site. Is there anything WRONG with me telling each and every one of you personally?GEESH I don't think we would have come this far as a society if that were the case and only a few told us what to do and gave us no choices in life!Carmine "The Big Ragu" :-coolhttp://www.fsfactory.com/images/fsfactory-logo2.gif

[Guest]

I guess the other thing is that it just goes to show what happens when people don't appreciate NEW NEWS and can only see inside the BOX!That's a shame and FORTUNATELY MOST PEOPLE have responded EXTREMELY POSITIVE AND HELPFUL!Carmine "The Big Ragu" :-coolhttp://www.fsfactory.com/images/fsfactory-logo2.gif

[Guest]

Carmine, you call that harmless email, I call it spamming our users, which I won't tolerate. I'm sure that was not the intention of why some users chose to leave their email address publically available. That is a very irresponsible use of the user's addresses in the forums.And for all those users that have received the email from Carmine, I'd like to reiterate that the way the forum stores your email addresses is out of the reach of spam scanners that I'm sure are scanning our website. As long as you don't actually include your email embedded in your message, only a registered user can see your email address if you have it set to be viewable in the forums.So just keep from typing your email address into your messages or your signature and keep us informed when you receive unsolicited email that is definitely coming from another user.

[Guest phil]

Carmine,>In your preferences on Avsim, I was able to post a message >to your email address. Fine, it's Cory, me and many others that are at fault for leaving our email address exposed.>I did not do anything out of the ordinary as I went to each >user and clicked on their email address and sent a message >is all. Funny, sending the self-same message to ALL users is out of the ordinary, at least in my book. In fact, on reflection, I'm wrong, it isn't out of the ordinary: it's just spam.>>As far as being bombarded, I cannot understand because I >sent only 1 email. Now I feel happier, I was worried that I'd be bombarded like poor old Cory.>Please let me know what happened? You just browned me off (actually stronger Anglo-Saxon phrase, but that'd not be appropriate here), so I won't be visiting your site. Wonder what the ratio of browned off Avsimers to new visitors to FSFactory will be? You might like to guess before you hit the send button on any more emails. :-roll

[Guest]

NOBODY'S EMAIL IS GOING ANYWHERE! Jeepers Creepers, Bad people give good people a bad name and that is all I was trying to be!It is the same thing If I lived in your neighborhood and wanted to invite everyone to a cookout!What am I supposed to fire up the grill and just expect people to walk over and join in the party?NO, I WOULD TELL THEM ABOUT IT! Think about that and then read what you wrote and see where we BOTH are coming from!Carmine "The Big Ragu" :-coolhttp://www.fsfactory.com/images/fsfactory-logo2.gif

[Guest phil]

Carmine your analogy of the party doesn't work here. Of course you have to get the message out about your site, but you simply went about it the wrong way.If you and Earl can't see that what you were doing was poaching, then it's your problem not mine. I'm sure Avsim will do whatever they think is appropriate.

[Guest]

>Carmine, >>>In your preferences on Avsim, I was able to post a message >>to your email address. >>Fine, it's Cory, me and many others that are at fault for >leaving our email address exposed. No Phil, you or anyone else shouldn't feel it is a fault of yours for leaving your email address available. It does help to make this more like a community if we are able to contact each other. The problem lies with those users that abuse that community by spamming the addresses and therefore I have taken care of the two users that have been agressively advertising for FSFactory.

[Tom Allensworth 1,532]

Yeah, well you are toast.

[Guest]

Perhaps you pressed the send button too many times, Carmine, because my inbox is showing 30-31 emails from you starting at 22:31:27 and ending at 22:32:16..... Thank god there were no images in these emails or my already hurting computer would be toast In any case now that I know you're a real person, please don't use my email without asking, or other people's emails for that matter...If you wish to let people know about your site, tell them on the forum, discreetly. People are not going to flock to your site when their addresses (Like mine, listed ONLY so other developers can contact me when they need to) are used to market / advertise / informationalise (Not a word) your website.Cory

[Guest]

Hey.. Carmine,I have sent you a nasty note via e-mail in a reply to your solicited spam. I hope you are ashamed of yourself. Consider yourself, your files and web site blacklisted.How on earth did you get (or rather, steal) my e-mail address?? I have not used any online forums in a long while.Any further e-mails from you will now be auto-blocked via my ISP so don't waste your time sending me your crap again!Call yourself an aviaton enthusiast?.. sheeshh.. you really have some nerve!Trev Morson.