Use either of the following two methods to send me (R L Samuell)
a mail message.
METHOD 1 - Traditional E-Mail -
My current e-mail address is computed below to hide it from e-mail
harvesting software. This computation of the address may take a
few seconds to complete at which time the color of the enclosing
box below will be changed from red to
blue. Wait until after the contents
of the box below have stopped changing and the box border has turned
blue. Then press the "METHOD 1 - Display Mail Form" button once to
display your browser's standard mail form, compose your message, and
send it.
METHOD 2 - Server-Side E-Mail -
This method can be used to write me an "anonymous" message. The message
will be stored immediately upon completion on my web server-- no actual
e-mail will be sent over the Internet. To use this method, fill-in the
following form. NOTE: Be sure to include
your e-mail address in the "From:" field below IF you want a reply.
Press the "METHOD 2 - Store Your Mail Message" button once to store your
completed message in a server file. The total length of your message is
limited to 5000 characters.
Notes About SPAM - Unsolicited
commercial e-mail (SPAM) has become a serious problem for everyone
with an Internet e-mail address. Please do not become an unwitting
contributor to this problem. Consider the following anti-SPAM
guidelines if you use e-mail:
Choose an e-mail address which has an uncommon user designation
if you have a choice. The e-mail address
<RVS3J1Z7@MAILBOX.CO.US> is a better choice than the
e-mail address <JOHN.SMITH@MAILBOX.CO.US>.
Use an alias for your e-mail address instead of the e-mail
address itself if your mail service provides this feature. An alias
can be changed as often as necessary by you if it is discovered
and used by spammers.
Insist that any printed list of e-mail addresses be strictly
controlled by the provider of the list. Such a list should never
be provided to anyone not a part of the community associated with
the list.
Do not electronically publish your e-mail address anywhere in
the clear. Spammers use software to harvest addresses visible on
the Internet and elsewhere. If you must publish your address,
insist that the publisher encode the address so that it is not
easily visible to harvesting software.
Provide your e-mail address only to people who have a policy of
not providing it to others without first asking your permission.
Do not provide someone else's e-mail address to other people
without first asking permission of the owner of the address.
Set your e-mail software to "not disclose recipient addresses"
when sending an e-mail message to a mailing list or a distribution
list. Most e-mail software provides this option of address
non-disclosure BUT you have to turn it "on".
Do not forward a message without first removing any e-mail
addresses disclosed in the body of the message. (You can leave the
names, of course.) This may include e-mail addresses improperly
included in a message sent to you.
Ignore all unsolicited commercial e-mail (SPAM) that you receive.
Do not even open it-- opening SPAM can tell the sender that your
address is a legitimate e-mail address. Replying to SPAM obviously
does the same thing. Many SPAM messages include information telling
you how you can be removed from their mailing list. This is just a
ploy to verify your address. Never reply to a SPAM message.
Shred all printed e-mail messages, reports, or lists containing
e-mail addresses before discarding. Some enterprises who support
spammers may pay as much as a US$1 for any likely legitimate e-mail
address which they do not already have.
Recognizing SPAM is both art and science. SPAM messages often exhibit
certain features that make it easy to identify the messages without
opening them. The following is a list of some characteristics that
may be helpful in identifying SPAM.
Commercial Subjects - Most SPAM is trying to sell you something.
If the "Subject" of an unsolicited message is trying to sell you a
product, then it is SPAM, by definition.
Unknown Sender - Some spammers try to use common names for the
author or sender of their messages hoping to hit on a name that might
actually match someone you know-- still it rarely happens. So if
you do not know the person whose name appears in the "From" field of
an e-mail you receive, do not open it.
Wrong Recipient Address - If you receive an e-mail message which
does not have your address anywhere in the "To:" field or has no "To:"
field at all, then it is probably broadcast SPAM and can be ignored.
Generally speaking, the contents of the "To:" field can be anything
and need have no connection at all to the recipient of the message.
Wrong Recipient Name - If you receive an e-mail message which
has your address in the "To:" field but someone else's name, then it
is likely SPAM and the spammer did not know your name and generated
a name as a filler or to make you curious enough to open the message.
Misspelled Words - Spammers often misspell words just enough to
get their message past filtering software while still rendering the
misspelled words understandable to humans-- such as, "morgage" for
"mortgage". I have discovered that a spell-checker would flag about
99% of the SPAM that I receive.
Gibberish - Spammers often provide part of a "Subject" or sender's
name whose spelling makes no sense. This may be done just to stir your
interest in opening the message or to help the spammer to identify you
if you try to check out their product through links in the message.
Ignore all messages that include this gibberish.
Random Subjects - Some spammers generate random words for the
"Subject" field of a message. These are usually spelled correctly
but are in a combination that makes no sense, little sense, or of such
a general sense as to be meaningless. Ignore these messages if you do
not know the sender.
Foreign Languages - SPAM is an international problem. Foreign
language SPAM may use unfamiliar foreign words or alphabets to
encode their messages. Ignore messages in languages or alphabets
that you do not understand.
Important Looking - Some SPAM looks important but if you do not
recognize the sender or the subject makes no sense to you, ignore it.
Don't necessarily be fooled by such subjects as "Your account has
been cancelled" or "Your criminal behavior has been reported to
authorities" or "Thank you for your $1000 order." Remember if the
content of the message is REALLY important, then the sender will
likely contact you more personally than through e-mail.
System-Originated - Some SPAM looks like a mail system or service
provider sent it to you. Unless the mail is from your own service
provider, it is usually safe to ignore it. If the mail is from your
own service provider but looks suspicious, call the provider before
opening it.
Unknown "Friend" - This is usually a sequence of SPAM from
someone who claims to know you. After several innocuous messages,
it is very tempting to e-mail the originator and ask who they are.
It is a more sophiscated, socialized way of confirming your address.
It might begin when you start receiving what looks like personal or
humorous e-mail from a mailing list with no request for a reply--
but after a few messages, you will get one which asks you for some
information. For example, the originator has misplaced someone's
e-mail address and asks you specifically if you know it. The sole
purpose of this sequence of messages is to get you to send a reply--
any reply, that will confirm your address.
If a message really intrigues you, determine if your mail software
allows you to save a copy of the message in a work area where you
can safely inspect the copy with a plain text editor like NOTEPAD
(under Windows).
