"spam"

[Der Alta]

In college, my roommates and I had a running competition. It was to see how quick we could get a Telemarketer to hand up on us.

My buddy Al won, when he broke down crying on the phone talking about how his wife had left him that morning.

At my previous employer, my cell phone got hit with a few TXT spams, and I didn't think much about it. By the second week with this company, I was getting flooded with them. Had to have the Boss shut off SMS to my phone, as it was loading up by early morning.

I believe it was the previous employee who used to have the phone and was fired.

Yes, I'm ashamed to admit this next part.

Why do I believe that? While at a previous employer, we did much the same thing. Our "IT" guy was unstable, to say the least. There was no legitimate reason to let him go, but multiple illegitimate reason he shouldn't work there. So two other employees and I took it upon ourselves to give him reason to go. We subscribed his Email to as many "off-topic" email/site lists we could find. Every time he changed it, we'd wait a day or two and begin the cycle anew. He started to think there was a hidden virus on the computer system, and after about 3 weeks, he was stressing out about the entire network being compromised. It escalated to the point where he was suggesting scrapping the entire system, and purchasing new software, computers, cabling, and components. This was for a 20 person firm, in Vermont. The boss gave him 3 weeks off and free visits to a psychologist. Turns out, when he wasn't at work the employees were less jumpy and the IT guy recovered nicely when he wasn't on a computer.

Yes, he handed his home email out to his friends when he left the company. No, we didn't continue.

Back on topic... As for Phone SMS, It should be absolutely illegal. Who'd by Sex/divorce/dating advice from a random text message?

[Tony Bag o Donuts]

One time in band camp....

seriously, one time a telemarketer called and I said se habla espanol?
So she started talking in spanish.. I was like uh oh and said my "junk" was on fire.....only spanish I know.

[Geekster]

Fax spam is just as bad. A friend kept getting a fax from a company that he had never done business with, nor was he planning to. Everyday, about 8 to 10 would come in. He tried calling them several times to stop it, sent faxes back to stop them and nothing worked. He went to the store and bought black paper and crayons. Wrote "NO" in big letters with the white crayon on black paper and faxed it to this annoying company 60 times. He said that things are still "good on the home front": no more spam faxes. I looked at him like he was some kind of genius!

[rudeboy]

<hehe..> some good stores boys & girls. i notified Verizon by email... we will see if something comes from it.

maybe next to a Do not call list we need a Do not sms list :]