Hi.
I have yet to meet anybody who enjoys receiving those "one time mailings", the "courtesy calls", etc.
Also, be aware that many web sites have "privacy policies" and that your e-mail address may be "shared." That means it can be put on a list so you receive e-mail from vendors that offer "similar products and/or services."
Pauluk, I like the options you listed. However, I think the <C>onnect option is difficult for a number of reasons, though it would probably be quite effective.
The <D>elete option is most likely the best, as frustrating as it is knowing that somebody dumps in your inbox and leaves the mess for you to clean up. As to
<R>eply...that's one I definitely wouldn't use. That can get you twice as much spam.
I have come up with my own little practices and "general rules" for dealing with spam when so much of it is coming in that deleting it is so time consuming:
<Fade in with Monty Python's "SPAM" song.>
...N-E-V-E-R reply to the "if you wish to be removed from this list..." type of bait. They're either going to bounce as undeliverable, or worse, you will be confirming that you are a "live" address. At that point, get ready for more of a deluge. (That, of course, does not apply to legitimate e-mail lists that one has subscribed to. I'm talking about the junk e-mail only.)
...Though this can get to be a real pain, where possible/practical, try to use more than one e-mail address.
Then, if your e-mail program provides the feature, filter your received mail into "folders" so that your messages are separate.
For example, one for your closest correspondents, one for your website (or better yet, use a form that lists no e-mail address), one for mailing lists to which you subscribe, etc. This way, if one of the addresses becomes unbearable due to spam, you can delete the address and replace it with something else. Very much annoying, especially having to go through correspondence to notify people of the new address. However, it should bring down the spam level a bit...until the next time.
...Note that there are "crawler" programs that go through web pages looking for e-mail addresses. If your address is on your web page, chances are you are going to get spam. Thus if you use a form rather than an e-mail address, it should help.
...If you have a domain name, the e-mail address that is registered with your domain will most likely get spam. The spammers crawl the domain registration listings as well. That, however, is a listing that must be a valid e-mail address so the domain registrar can reach you via e-mail.
<Cut to Monty Python's "SPAM" song, then fade out.>
