> " One of the most credible sources of information is the word-of-mouth. Let > us boast about you by making discreet postings to discussion groups, > forums, bulletin boards, newsgroups, and chats. " > > Ugh! Is there a name for this sort of stealth spam? That is just SO > friggin' cynical and evil... not in the least because it also implies that > they could dish dirt about any given product or company for the right > price, as well.
Music hype companies have been doing this for a while: http://www.candypushers.com/about.htm <snip> What do I have to do to get free stuff on a regular basis? ... If you spend a lot of time online, you can also help share info about your favorite bands in chat rooms, on message boards, and even on your own website if you have one. </snip> Of course, your "favorite bands" are the ones that this company is getting paid to hype. Thier most successful "stealth spam" as David puts it was in support of the white stripes. INDIE MY ASS!!! I'm on a list of indie rock fans that gets that treatment all the time. Generally, that variety of it is kids who get prizes for pimping bands with their own ISP accounts, so it's trivial to use the email header info to find out a crapload about the person and post it to the group. That usually scares the crap out of the person and they flee. Also, sometimes you can call their employer if posting from work or email their isp abuse person and get them termed. If you really can't get enough information to go after they guy, start a flame war until they treaten you with assault or worse, then you can get the information from their ISP. So if you can't tell already, I'm somewhat pissed at these kinds of tactics. It's kinda like somebody crashing your party and extolling the virtues of wal-mart with a bullhorn. I've only done these things a few times and they keep on coming. tack _______________________________________________ Bits mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.sugoi.org/mailman/listinfo/bits
