The Sympatico service has a strict non-tolerance policy concerning spamming by our members. All complaints of spam are thoroughly investigated, and continued abuse will lead to the termination of the spammer's Sympatico membership.

The Sympatico service has already begun taking measures to stop non-members from using our network resources to send their spam messages. Also, a variety of technical solutions are being examined as preventative measures to stop Sympatico members from initiating spam messages.

Your Sympatico account gives you e-mailing privileges. Your e-mail address is private and confidential unless or until you give it out. People can communicate with you if they are informed of your address or if it is in some way advertised. Sympatico Internet Services does not sell or trade its customers' e-mail addresses. If you are receiving Junk E-mail, otherwise known as "Spam," the author of the message most often has obtained your address as a result of your activities on the Internet. Here are some strategies to preserve your privacy and avoid receiving spam.

It is helpful to understand how bulk e-mailing lists are gathered. Most bulk distribution lists are compiled by specialized software that "harvests" e-mail addresses from "headers" in listservs and Usenet newsgroups messages, or by software that scans the Internet, gathering addresses advertised on Web pages and guest books. Keep in mind that e-mail lists are sold by list brokers. Consequently, once your address appears on such a list, it can take months or years to totally "delist" yourself. Therefore if you do not participate in newsgroups/listservs or publicize your address on the Internet you will be invisible to all but the most persistent spammers. If you are publicizing your address and participating in public discussions we suggest a three step approach: 1) remain anonymous; 2)filter your incoming mail and, 3) inform the spammer's Internet Service provider of their activity.

The key to a "spam-free" mailbox is to remain anonymous on the Internet. The following are some techniques to preserve your privacy:

• Disguise your real return address. You can type your real e-mail address in the main body of your message. Harvesting software is unlikely to search for your e-mail in the main body of your message. Notify the receipients of your e-mail that you have altered your return address. See How do I modify my return address?
• Replacing the @ and "." symbols with the words "at" and "dot" is an effective alias. Keep in mind that the bulk e-mailing industry is well aware of the tricks and has software that automatically removes words like NOSPAM in otherwise authentic addresses. Be creative with your return address and you will protect yourself from all but the most tenacious spammers.
• Report Spam to Sympatico member Services. See "What can I do about spam?".

• If your e-mail address has already been captured by the bulk e-mailing industry you may want to remedy the situation with filtering software. This software can be configured to automatically delete "spam" e-mail (move it to the trash folder) or automatically return it back to the author. The theory is that most unsolicited mail is generated from certain internet domain names. Therefore, if you block mail coming in from those domains, you can cut down the number of spam coming into your mailbox. Some examples of e-mail filtering software are at these sites:

  http://www.software.zdnet.com/roundups/spam/rnp0897.html
  http://idirect.tucows.com/window95.html

If you wish to go head to head with spammers, there are a number of ways to track them down. The underlying concept is that most Internet Service Providers (ISP) have policies prohibiting the sending of unsolicited messages and do not hesitate to terminate accounts of their users sending "spam". Consequently, if you contact the spammer's ISP it may very well lead to the termination of his or her Internet access.The Sympatico service practices this no nonsense approach.

The key to tracking down spammers is to identify their source. This information is readily available within the header of the unsolicited message.

• To view the entire header with Netscape Communicator, start Netscape Messenger, then click the View menu, then select Headers then click All.
• With Netscape Mail (with Netscape Navigator 3), first open the Netscape Mail window, then click the Options menu, then select Show Headers then click All.

Once you have determined the source of the "spam" send a complaint to the ISP including the offending message and complete header.

Spammers have become more elusive in the last few years and often forge header information in order to avoid detection. The following site is helpful in gaining a better understanding of header information and detecting forgeries:

We hope that this information is of assistance. Should you have any experiences of spam to report, please contact the Sympatico Internet Abuse department.

We urge all Sympatico members to respect the rights of other members and Internet users around the world.

Related questions:

What is spam?
What harm does spam do?
What can I do about spam?
Acceptable Use Policy

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