So what is spam – @Ed_Dale ?

“Chris, there is only one definition of spam — unsolicited email”

Nope, not really. That’s your definition. Spam is a repeated bombardment of essentially unwanted information. Go watch the python sketch that gives it it’s name. I’m sure it’s on youtube.

Eg: “We’ve got SPAM, egg and SPAM, SPAM SPAM sausage and SPAM, SPAM SPAM….” (well I’m sure you get the idea).

The folks in the restaurant in the skit actually did “opt in” by walking in the door. They agreed to some level of interaction with the business. What then happened was the proprietor took advantage of that relationship in an attempt, perhaps, to offload a surplus of SPAM by putting it in every dish.

So I’d argue your definition of spam, in the first instance.

Secondly, the “just opt out” argument. I’m happy to join your mailing list. I’ll even follow your recommendations, Ed, to “go here and sign up, hey, don’t actually buy anything, but take the free information”. Now I’m not an idiot, and I can understand you’re marketing there, but the cumulative result is 20 of you then bombarding me with crap about the latest product launch.

The point was, with the latest version of that, mass control, people are sick and tired (I imagine) of all the nonsensical hype of “hey, this is a great product. You know what, I haven’t actually bought it, but I’m getting paid to say so” messages. We know how the product launch formula works, we’ve seen it a lot (high volume) were’ familiar’ (read, resistant). Hmm, high volume of requests to do something we’re resistant to? Sure sounds like SPAM to me, and certainly abuse of the relasionship.

I know you’re big on relationship, Ed, and I get that – and you also talk about the dangers of abusing it – so please don’t complain when someone calls you out for doing just that. I unsubscribed from your list, and also no longer follow you on twitter.

I’m sure it won’t make a dent in your sales And I don’t bear you any grudges. I love your work, and I love your material. If I want to read your tweets now and keep in touch, there’s always the RSS version of your twitter feed, and that’s far, far less intrusive on my life, and I can choose to read it whenever I want.

THAT, in my opinion, is the power of twitter: Your public feed is availble by RSS for me to read, even though I *don’t* follow you, whenever I want, in a format I want (google reader).

Originally posted as a comment by Rich on The Tubbynerd using Disqus.

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The problem with organised religion

…Is that they have no sense of humor. Yes, I know that’s a gross generalization.

This is a rant.  You may safely ignore it if you so wish

Case in point: A local network screens it’s so-called ‘edgy and sexy new drama’, Californication, starring David “Don’t call me Mulder” Duchovny. Now you don’t need to be Einstein to work out that a TV show with a title like that is not going to be family viewing. Of course that doesn’t stop the religious types taking offence with a particular scene involving a nun performing fellatio..

(Aside: hey! cool, I worked the word “fellatio” into my blog! It’s a proud day indeed)

Quoting The Melbourne Age:

“..The opening sequence of the first episode depicted Duchovny’s character Hank Moody praying to Jesus in front of a giant crucifix while a nun performed oral sex on him.

The Australian Christian Lobby said the scene was unacceptable.

“We have 64 per cent of Australians identify themselves as Christian, and yet you have a program like this that is trying to mock them or insult them,” spokeswoman Glynis Quinlan said…”

Just because Ms Quinlan and her friends at the Australian Christian Lobby find the concept of oral sex abhorrent doesn’t mean that the rest of the damn country agrees with you. I’d even hazard a guess that some of the 64 percent of the Australian Christians she references have probably performed oral sex on one another at some point in their lives.

And don’t get me started on the whole Catholic Priest/Altar boy issue.

In fact, I’d go so far as to suggest that some of the 64 percent actually do have a sense of humour about it, and wouldn’t find that scene particularly disturbing.

Does anyone remember the whole brouhaha a while back when someone dared to draw a comic strip depicting Mohammed? People kill each other over this stuff. Come on. Lighten the fuck up!