howdy poppers!
i too was rejected by bluehome...and i used a VALID mailing address and
telephone number (my work address, which i'm leaving reasonably soon...so i
don't have anything to lose by having them send spam there).
initially, i reacted as alan and brian and dennis and lee did; that is, with
suspicion and dismay at this apparent breach of my privacy. but then i got
to thinking...
perhaps bluehome is following such a stringent course of confirming its
registrants in the interest of PREVENTING spammers from signing up and
abusing their service and then re-signing up after getting booted.
while it's true that "savvy internet users" (like ourselves) would use false
or doctored information to sign up in the interest of protecting our
privacy, it is even truer that spammers will definitely use false
information.
and bluehome may be willing to lose a few privacy-aware customers if doing
so helps them keep away the hordes of spammers. witness the fate of
hotpop.com, a service that i used to use long ago, before it was destroyed
by spammers.
we all know how difficult it is for these providers to offer free smtp when
the potentials for abuse are so huge. it is possible that bluehome is
merely trying to protect itself (and its valid customers) from suffering the
fate that others have previously. i see their actions as a sort of
potential method of establishing some accountability among their users: "you
trust us with your personal data and we'll trust you with out smtp servers."
now, let me say that i don't necessarily endorse this policy. in fact, i'm
actually going to trash my application, because i still don't feel
comfortable enough giving out more detailed information.
but i did want to publicize this "glass half empty" viewpoint and solicit
any reactions.
warmest regards,
martin
