SPAM thru this Forum??

signman, a couple of things if I may:

1. Nothing gives me the WHOOPSIES more than SPAM and ESEPCIALLY TELEMARKETING!

2. NEVER reply to spam. It just let's the marketers know that your email address is active and that their marketing is reaching it's audiance. This INCREASES the ammount of spam you receive as you email address has just gone up a notch on the list as they know someone is reading it.

3. You can turn your email address off (ie so it is not displayed on the forum).

4. On the bright side, it's actually refreshing to here that a polly is reading this forum and taking in all of our opinions on issues relating to hour hobby/lifstyle choice!

i doubt that your email address was sourced from the owners of this site....he (OE) might as well shut up shop if it was...

you havent posted it your email address in a forum reply somewhere?

And here I was thinking it was just me ! I too received the same email from the politician. And I don't even live in Australia, at present.

The only forum I write anything in about 4wd is this site.

Amazing how word gets around

One way to reduce spam is to set filters. In Outlook Express:

Message ->Create Rule From Message, tick "Where Subject Line Contains Specific Words, tick "Do Not Download it From the Server" (scroll down), click on hyperlink in third dialogue box and add all the words you want to in the pop-up

Viagra
cialis
pharmaceutical
Pharmaceuticals

just pick on specific words that you would not use in email conversations and subject lines and add to the list. This has knocked the bulk of the crap on the head.

G'day,

reckon I know the fella you are referring to. If I am correct, I am subscribed to his newsletters and he is a good bloke, we are lucky to have him in parliament. however, i also received a (possibly reply all) reply to his email from an unknown asking simply "who is ......." That was the only one. Weird.

hi signman,

And that is exactly my wonder.. just HOW did I receive an email from the politician. As I mentioned.. I do not and have never logged into any other similar leisure related website using the address I use here.

Leaves a strange feeling inside.. although I do hope that he writes to me again and soon.

G'day Signman,

I wouldn't make an issue of it. That's life!

* Set your spam filters.
* Don't open e-mails for which you don't know the sender or recognise the subject.

We are constantly bombarded with information from people wishing to do business with us. Adds on/in:

* Shop windows.
* TV.
* Food packaging.
* Logo on your 4x4.
* Newspaper.
* Surfwear tee shirts.

As sure as you're in the phone book or on the electrol roll you'll get charities phoning. If you live in a fibro house you get people wanting to sell you cladding.

I have a Yahoo e-mail address which I use for forums, news letters and free downloads. I get it out wherever I can, including on my four websites. I took out this e-mail address so as to avoid spam on my "good" bigpond address. The funny thing is that despite flaunting the Yahoo address I get very little spam on it. I've left the spam filter on its defaults. My Yahoo address is laurie_m48@yahoo.com and I feel confidant about displaying it.

Any expectation that you'll be left in your isolation by would be marketers in this modern day is unrealistic and you'll work yourself into an early grave trying to enforce your expectation.

So do what you conveniently can to cut down the spam and get on with life and be happy.

Regards,
Laurie.
Laurie's Photos (with e-mail address)

I can ASSURE you all that there is no way that the email addresses have been sourced from this site. In fact we take quote an exception to the interance being posted on the forum without checking directly with us first, so that the facts can be explained. The ONLY way an email address will appear visible to outside poeple is as follows:

1. You post your address in plain text in any post, followup or reply such as david@exploroz.com - this may be picked up by a spam spider.
2. You are a member and have enabled the display email address on rig pic page.
3. You reply to a trader ad email from someone that wants to buy your advertised stuff.

That is it.

If you subscribe to the newsletter or register for visitor, member or customer access - the only emails you will get are from us. If you use the intractive systems your will still only get email from our server system. At NO TIME are email addresses exposed from this server except in the cases above. This is also why the advertising systems has the send enquiry functions and does not show email addresses.

If you want to check why not go to www.google.com.au and type your email address as the search string and find where it may be located on the internet - it will not be from this site unless you have posted it in plain text.

Signman,

I found your email address posted in plain text on post 23330. This can, may and would be able to be picked up by any email spiders that are around. We cannot control an email address that you have typed into the open forum as anyone on the net could in fact can read your email address from the site. Hence the inferance that we (ExplorOz) have caused you to receive spam is misleading and defamotary.

In any case this email would fall under the anti spam legislation. If it was sent from a local (Australian) email server then it would in fact be illegal, as you have not requested to receive this email from this person. I would send copies of the email and the details to the agency that manages this - see SPAM ACT 2003.

My ISP Westnet has a very good spam bust service - gets things from dodgy overseas ISPs and anything sent out in bulk. I then get an email and i can just click on any message on the list that i really want to receive. Quick, easy and effective, all for $10 per year. I can add to it people i don't want to hear from, or can set it up to always receive from certain addresses (eg a mail order business that gets caught occasionally because they send so much at a time). So quick and easy.

I also received the same email. I was bemused, rather than upset. In fact I met the guy once, at a very non political function. Never heard from him again....until yuesterday.
And if you're reading this Jon, you had just bought a Disco Duck at the time, and it was getting salt spray on it :)))))

Hi Signman.
I have know this politician for a few years & he is certainly on the side of the 4wd fraternity.He might be on his soapbox however we need more of these people to help negate the push by certain groups to kill of 4wd & any recreational activity.

I also received the email but I found it very interesting, and I found his approach to all things environmental / 4WD's / fishing exclusion zones / harold scruby etc; very sensible and constructive.

I can see a new political party forming, we could fall it "fourbies first" or something like that.

Post his email address. I have a few issues I would like to raise.

D-Jack

the email addresses were sold from Overlander Magazine forum

can guarantee email addresses were harvested electronically and sold by Overlander magazine as my email address is hidden at Overlander

Hi Dave,

I too wish to apologise if any of my comments were or are taken as inference of some misdeed. I am in agreeance with signman in offering this apology.
Peter L.

Well we got the email as well.
Never been on Overlander that I know so I tried the suggestion above of typing our email address into google and guess what came up????-- ExplorOz!!!!!
But I admit I have posted my email address to someone who was looking for follow up on a matter.
So in my case it came from OE but it was my "fault" as I had posted it publicly.
The fix?? Simple, exclude him from your system in Message Rules.
Rusty

Jeez Take it Easy People

This is a long post so please bear with me :-)

Firstly let me apologiseto everyone who received the newsletter and also received a follow-up posting from someone else. The ISP who maintains the list software does not know how this person was able to post to everybody on the list as well, it was apparently a bug within the list software. The ISP tells me this bug has been fixed and this problem should not occur again.

Secondly let me explain how I gather e-mail addresses to send my newsletter to.

Method 1: I receive in between 100 and 300 e-mails per day. About one third of those are real Spam crap selling the Viagra or some other medication or some other rubbish. The other two thirds are people who contact me in my role as a member of Parliament and asking for may assistance in some respect. As a general rule if you send me a request I am going to send you a newsletter every six months or so.

Method 2: I read every 4WD forum in Australia and several overseas ones (and every fishing and horseriding forum as well!). In some cases I contribute and in other cases I just observe. But if someone publishes their e-mail address in a 4WD forum and on a topic that I am either interested in or that I contribute to I will grab their e-mail address and put it into my database as someone who "might" be interested in the only politician in Australia dedicated to looking after recreational activities primarily being 4WD, horseriding and fishing.

Method 3: you can be subscribed by you or somebody else subscribing your e-mail address to the list which is done automatically.

Apart from those three broad groups I actually have no idea how particular people's e-mail addresses get into the list so I have no idea how Signman's e-mail got into my list apart from the fact that was in the general group that came from one of the four-wheel-drive forums that I read. Doing a quick search back through the forums for Signman's name immediately revealed his e-mail address which he had published in an article I had probably read.

So there is a golden rule here: if you do not want your e-mail address then do not publish it for the world to see.

The other question as to whether this newsletter qualified under the legal definition of spam. In answering this question I quote here from the official Commonwealth government site defining what is and is not spam (I have tried to put my comments in bold):

Spam is the term now generally used to refer to unsolicited electronic messages, usually transmitted to a large number of recipients.

They usually, but not necessarily, have a commercial focus, promoting or selling products or services; and they share one or more of the following characteristics:
They are sent in an untargeted and indiscriminate manner, often by automated means;
the newsletter was not an target or indiscriminate, rather it was specifically targeted at people who had either contacted me directly or who had published their e-mail addresses in a public manner in forums to which I also subscribe.

They include or promote illegal or offensive content;
my newsletter did not contain illegal or offensive content
Their purpose is fraudulent or otherwise deceptive;
my newsletter was not fraudulent or deceptive
They collect or use personal information in breach of the Privacy Act 1988 National Privacy Principles (NPPs );
I did not collect any personal information
They are sent in a manner that disguises the originator;
I was clearly identified as the originator of the newsletter
They do not offer a valid and functional address to which recipients may send messages opting out of receiving further unsolicited messages.
I clearly gave a valid address and valid instructions for removal from the list

Not all bulk email is spam. Bulk email would probably not be generally regarded as spam if it:

Is sent to recipients who have previously dealt voluntarily with the sender before and, on the basis of that existing relationship, can reasonably be assumed by the sender to be prepared to accept messages of the type being sent;
in this case the receiver of the newsletter had published his e-mail address in a public forum discussing issues with which I am intimately involved in a very public manner
Does not promote or include illegal content;
obviously my newsletter did not promote any of this
Is not deceptive in any way that breaches common law or statute law;
as far as I know there was nothing in the newsletter which breaches common or statute law of any State or Territory of Australia
Does not collect or use personal information in breach of the National Privacy Principles.
I did not obtain or disclose personal information in the newsletter

on that basis then it is very clear that this newsletter was not by any legal definition "spam".

I would be happy to discuss this issue with anyone at any time either publicly or privately however, I only get to read Explor Oz about once a month so if you would like to discuss it here in the forum please e-mail me to tell me that you have posted a reply.

regards
Dr Jon Jenkins MLC
www.trac.org.au

>This forum as do many others I guess constantly post comments about possible
>government intervention in the 4wd world.

>People like Mr Harold Scrubby who stir the pot on things like banning bullbars, 4
>wheel drivers supposed aggressive nature on the roads and fuel guzzling 4wd's etc
>etc.
>And the comments by the NSW coroner in a recent case.

>My question is simple, In your capacity as an MLC, Do you find that the topic of
>legislation to change the 4 wheel drive world is discussed or proposed at all at
>either the State or Federal level by politicians or is the subject and the stirring by
>these people ignored at the respective level as just "Media Hype" and personal
>agendas by select individuals?

Yes at both levels. there is absolutely no doubt that a significant number of politicians from both sides of the political spectrum have an anti 4WD agenda. within those circles the general discussion is threefold:

1: can we make licensing for 4WDs more difficult or expensive?
2: can we make registration and other requirements more difficult or expensive?
3: any other ways we can make owning a 4WD less attractive?

With regards to 1: the Federal government inquiry recommended special licences for all "heavy" vehicles whose starting weight was >2.5tonnes (GU/100/78s) or whose potenital aggregate weight was >4.5 tonnes. (i.e. large 4WDs and other utilities plus max allowed trailer). This issue was also discussed at some length by the then Minister for roads Michael Costa. However the problem was how to differentiate between a 2 tonne 4WD and a 2 tonne large sedan. The other question really is how do you classify a 4WD? Is a Toyota RAV4 or a Mazda Tribute a 4WD and I think this was the real problem. However that didn't stop them introducing driving restrictions for young drivers in high powered vehicles, they just prepared a list of about 1200 vehicles which P plate drivers can't drive.
As far as special licences goes most people who are in the 4WD club system don't seem to have a big objection to this aspect, probably because they have to undergo their own training system anyway. But people outside of the clubs (especaially rural and horse and boaties) object very strongly to having to undergo another training and licensing system.

With regard to 2: the other issue that is discussed "in the back rooms" is whether they can introduce some sort of truck like registration requirements for 4WDs (like logboooks etc!) with the intention being of course to discourage the use. But again the question that besets them is: "what is a 4WD" and how they would police these rules considering the number of 4WDs on the road. already in some states if you're 4WD is registered as a business vehicle then you are required to have reversing beepers fitted. I can also see a requirement to retrofit ultrasonic warning sensors to many larger vehicles within the not too far distant future.

Issue 3 is more subtle. it consists of media campaigns to portray 4WD owners as some sort of evil child killing climate changing subhuman redneck Neanderthals. and to be brutally honest sometimes we are our own worst enemies! IN addition some of the councils in Sydney are considering introducing a greenhouse tax and in fact North Sydney Council has already done so. Although originally obviously aimed at 4WDs it has managed to catch all manner of large family cars in its net. So the average family Commodore will attract the same tax as a 3L diesel Patrol.

The real problem at the moment is that the media are only really interested in the sensational tactics used by Scruby. It's very easy to portray the horrific picture of a child being run over by any vehicle including four-wheel drive. But it's very hard to get the media to take any notice of the deliberately deceptive use of statistics and the positive side of owning a 4WD. Believe me we do try, every 4WD association and literally thousands of people out there sending their e-mails, letters and stories to the media organisations. unfortunately the story we are selling is not sensational and doesn't conjure up any horrific visions and as a result we don't get much airtime.

So the short answer to your question is: yes, there are some serious proposals which could cause us a bit of grief. However the more outrageous proposals of banning 4WDs and banning bull bars will simply not happen. But there is a dedicated bunch of people who will do everything they can to make owning a 4WD as socially and financially difficult as they can and they will never give up.

sorry for such a long reply but is not a simple situation.

jon