SpreadFirefox Spam
From the SpreadFirefox Account page:
“The e-mail address is not made public and will only be used if you wish to receive a new password or wish to receive certain news or notifications by e-mail.”
So, how then, did I get an e-mail from “Spread Firefox team [asa@mozilla.org]” that had nothing to do with any of the above? This email is about the Firefox Flicks campaign. This is spam.
Echoing some of the points made here. http://nitin.wlkr.net/mozings/2006/02/spreadfirefox_spams.html
· There’s no options in SpreadFirefox’s e-mail options that deal with promotional e-mail.
· There’s no way to cancel a SFX account, still.
· The unsubscribe link points to http://mozilla.cmail1.com, and not anything @spreadfirefox. Who I might (kinda) trust.
And two new points:
· The message has a bad plain text-component so that you have to follow a link to read it.
· The email contains a webbug at the end of it:
<img src=”http://mozilla.cmail1.com/.aspx/o/———-unique id ————/o.gif” width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″>
Both techniques are usually emplyed only by spammers. (In fact, Thunderbird even flagged the message as an e-mail scam. Ironic?)
I’d like to call on the Mozilla Foundation (which, to my knowledge is who provides support for SpreadFirefox and not the Corporation) as well as Asa Dotzler who’s email address is personally on the spam in question, to take responsibility for spamming SpreadFirefox members.
It’s not spam. It’s a request to our Spread Firefox members (who signed up to help spread Firefox) to participate in a Firefox spreading project.
If you’re not interested in spreading Firefox and hearing about Spread Firefox campaigns, please don’t sign up to be a part of Spread Firefox.
Mail isn’t sent to people who have as their only activity participating in the affiliate program. If you’re not an active member of Spread Firefox and do not wish to participate in Spread Firefox activities, you can email admin@spreadfirefox.com to have your account removed.
Unfortunately, Drupal doesn’t offer a simple “delete my account” option (yay open source CMSes) but we hope to have something for that implemented soon.
– A
I don’t really have a problem with the message content, but rather that its not revealed anywhere that its sent. I haven’t been a member of SFX since before its public launch for nothing. 🙂
What I have a problem with, is that it comes from an external site, that uses tactics like common spammers (missing plaintext e-mail and webbugs) that even Thunderbird, thinks is suspect.
My concerns are the same. Its not about the content of the message, and more about the tactics used. (external site cmail1, no easy way to unsubscribe, and now tracking/web-bug)
@Asa,
> If you’re not interested in spreading Firefox and hearing about Spread Firefox campaigns, please don’t sign up to be a part of Spread Firefox.
Are you saying that if the sender’s intentions are not malicious, unsolicited email is no longer spam?
I signup at various forums and groups, and change my preferences to “web-only”. It means exactly that, I intend to read about that stuff on the web. I do not want to be emailed about the happening events.