Re: ActiveAgent
andy@andy.net
Fri, 8 Nov 1996 14:38:37 +0000
I disagree with you on this one. IT has far more potential as a spam
tool, but it could also be a great tool to collect addresses within
an intranet. Many intranets have grown so large that the admins
have no idea who all is using the network or how to reach them.
ActiveAgent could be used very nicely within a contained environment
(can't get out to the net at large) by responsible users. I really
hate to use this line, but to misquote the NRA "programs aren't
irresponsible, users are" (gun don't kill people, people kill people)
The program is a nice piece of work, the problem is making sure it
isn't abused and there is far TOO MUCH potential for ActiveAgent to
be abused.
> ActiveAgent *has* no positive potential. It is a tool designed to
> facilitate email spammming of people with webpages - which is *in and of
> itself a bad thing*. In sheer self-defense I am engaged in *removing* all
> mailto: links from all web sites I am responsible for - as a direct result
> of things like ActiveAgent flooding my mailboxes. I receive *many* email
> spams a day from people running bots similar to ActiveAgentas the
> webmaster for a few dozen websites - a situation that can only get worse.
> The direct consequence of this will be the removal of *anything* on the
> sites that can be used by a robot to generate email to me.
>
--
Andy Warner
andy@andy.net
http://www.andy.net/~andy/