What is email Spaming and Flaming?

Spaming and flaming are two types of email abuse. It is important to understand what constitutes email abuse so you do not inadvertently contribute to it yourself. It is also good to know how to respond to email abuse when it happens to you.

Unsolicited email sent to a number of individuals is called spam and is a classic form of email abuse. The term spam comes from an old Monty Python sketch.

Scene - a café. One table is occupied by a group of Vikings with horned helmets on. A man and his wife enter.

Man: You sit here, dear.

Wife: All right.

Man: (To waitress) Morning!

Waitress: Morning!

Man: Well, what've you got?

Waitress: Well, there's egg and bacon; egg sausage and bacon; egg and spam; egg bacon and spam; egg bacon sausage and spam; spam bacon sausage and spam; spam egg spam, spam bacon and spam; spam sausage spam spam bacon spam tomato and spam;

Vikings: (starting to chant) Spam spam spam spam…

Waitress: … spam spam spam egg and spam; spam spam spam spam spam spam baked beans spam spam spam…

- from Monty Python's Previous Record

If you are new to the Internet, you won't see a lot of spam right away. After you have been online awhile, you will begin to see spam from time to time. How much you get depends on how visible your own email address is, who has collected it, who has sold it and who has bought it.

What do you do if you find you are getting spam? There are several things you an do:

• Use the delete key! This is the easiest and quickest way. It works best if you are getting only the occasional spam message

• You can use filter and folders or even shareware packages to help you direct your spam into one folder

• To prevent spam, learn more about the various ways that spammers obtain email addresses. Never post your email address on a public web page. Make sure you read all privacy agreements when you purchase something on the web.

Flaming is like spamming - it is also an abuse of email. A Flame is an email or newsgroup message in which the writer attacks another person with uninhibited hostility. A flame war is an exchange of flames between two or more participants. Flames can be contagious.

Emotions have a way of generating more emotions, so it is a good idea to wait for a while before responding to an email that looks like a flame. You may have misinterpreted the original email message. The best way to stop a flame war is to not respond. If you are angry or upset about something, deal with it face-to-face. Email is not suitable for all types of communications!

You are now finished with the email etiquette section.

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