Last updated: October 1997
From: jorn@mcs.com (Jorn Barger) Newsgroups: news.admin.net-abuse.misc,comp.org.eff.talk, alt.folklore.internet,alt.culture.www,rec.arts.books Date: Sun, 19 Oct 1997 12:48:29 -0500
Everybody knows that Canter and Siegel, the original Green Card spammers, wrote a book in 1994 encouraging others to follow in their footsteps. But searches at Yahoo and Altavista don't reveal any record of quotes from the book. So this posting will be archived [here] to remedy this.
Being lawyers, they go all out to portray their actions as honorable. These quotes capture all their major arguments, which would be very convincing except for one thing, that's obvious to actual usenet readers-- if there's no limits on spam, then newsgroups become unusable for everyone.
Book info: How Make a FORTUNE on the Information Superhighway
Subtitle: "Everyone's guerrilla guide to marketing on the Internet and
other on-line services"
by Laurence A. Canter and Martha Siegel, from HarperCollins 1994.
"You're here to make money. Therefore, our best advice is to ignore these clowns [flamers]... The Information Superhighway is for everyone, even lawyers, even you. Plant your feet firmly on the road, hold your head up, and keep moving." p3
"Those who buy into the myth that Cyberspace is a real place also believe that this illusory locale houses a community, with a set of laws, rules, and ethics all its own.... Later we'll show you how to separate fact from fiction and follow the laws that really count in your quest for fortune on the I-way. The Internet has for some time been in the hands of dreamers. It is time for you, the realist, to take hold." p6
"The Usenet offers one of the best ways we know for making money on the Net." p10
"...Because this transfer of information tends to intensify the effects of communication, the result often is that a feeling of closeness develops between the people who give and receive it. As uplifting as this feeling may be, it's important to keep things in perspective. ...some starry-eyed individuals who access the Net think of Cyberspace as a community with rules, regulations and codes of behavior. Don't you believe it! There is no community. ...Along your journey, someone may try to tell you that in order to be a good Net 'citizen,' you must follow the rules of the Cyberspace community. Don't listen. The only laws and rules with which you should concern yourself are those passed by the country, state, and city in which you truly live..." p12
"They called us 'idiots' and 'clueless,' words we thought inaccurate descriptions of two experienced professionals who had several advanced degrees and had written two books." p17
"Then we got to thinking. Advertising to these groups was practically free. Since cost was not a factor, why not advertise to all the groups." p18
"...they read us the riot act on how what we had done was irresponsible and rude. We didn't see it that way." p19
"...Nearly all the callers sounded young. Nearly all were male. We had never heard so many emotionally disturbed voices. Even the tone of those who tried to register their dissatisfaction politely were tinged with something approximating hysteria." p21
"We were absolutely amazed that there were people who could become so distraught over the appearance of a simple, commercial message on their computer screens." p21-22
"From that day forward, the Internet never stopped discussing us... After lengthy deliberation, it was decided to call the practice 'spamming' in honor of a well-known skit by Monty Python's Flying Circus, the famous British comedy group. We were unfamiliar with the skit, but apparently it involved throwing lunch meat at a wall." p24
"What we honestly were not prepared for, however, was the passionate opposition we encountered." p27
"By this time the old guard... had developed a full-blown delusion that the Internet was a cross between a womb, a church, and a nation-state." p29
"Here in [Phoenix] advertising is not a sin. It's not rude. It's certainly not illegal." p30
"All told, the final count of actual paying clients for the single venture [Green Card spam] was slightly in excess of one thousand and we had made $100,000." p32
"By the time you read this, some of the protesters we encountered may have been gathered up and locked away where vandals and the like belong." p32
"Some of the loudest protests against cyberselling are coming from individuals who themselves are exploiting the I-way for profit in every manner possible." p32
"When you consider so violent a reaction to something as relatively harmless as advertising, you really must ask yourself, 'Why?' You must ask yourself if these are voices worth listening to..." p33
"There is no reason why the message you choose to post [to Usenet] should not be one that tells about a product you have to sell." p71
"Why.. not press your delete key and simply eliminate it, a procedure that takes about one second?" p83
"As lawyers, we know of no legal theory that precludes one person from having diffeent values, different standards of behavior, or different ideas of where to advertise than another." p86
"...the active opponents of Usenet advertising form a relatively small group." p86
"In true communist societies, advertising is not allowed except by the government who owns everything." p86
"...the more Newsgroups to which you post, the more customers you will find and the better chance you have of building your fortune." p87
"Will you allow the protestors who have no legal right to interfere with your business stop you [sic] from selling your product or service...?" p88
"...the computer geeks loved the idea that they had something of value which the slick, commercial outside world couldn't touch." p188
"Mr Suarez... sued Meeks for liable [sic!]." p193
"The only thing that remained with us and does so until this day is the unshakable conviction that the Net community is the last bunch on earth who have the right to tell anyone else how to behave." p204-205
"The Internet is, after all, just a convenient way of sending and receiving information. To most, it hardly seems an all consuming passion worth fighting over." p206
"Making money on the Internet in whatever way seems best to you is not a moral question as long as you conduct yourself with basic honesty and obey the law. The inappropriateness of those who are at best rude and at worst criminally inclined dictating standards of behavior to others is all too obvious... Anyone who dislikes you simply because you are new on the block or will not play by their rules is not worthy of your consideration.... You don't have to buy into their rituals." p207
"...Usenet is the only public gathering place currently existing on Internet [sic]. It is a legal and appropriate forum in which to place commercial messages." p230
j "First, let's kill all the lawyers..." Wm Shakespeare