* morrowc.lists@gmail.com (Christopher Morrow) [Tue 03 Oct 2023, 18:29 CEST]:
this sort of thing (provider X scrapes Y and mails Z for sales leads) every ~18 months. the same outrage and conversation happens every time. the same protection mechanisms are noted every time.
Is there a reason that: "killfileand move on" is not the answer everytime for this? (why do we need to keep rediscussing it)
It's a vicious circle: provider scrapes operational addresses and spams them, providers stop putting useful addresses in public databases to avoid spam, everybody who needs to find operational contacts in a variety of situations loses in the end. We keep discussing it because we care about keeping the internet running. It's similar to why we keep looking for new security holes in existing software: we don't stop because inevitably we'll find more so it's a lost cause, we keep looking because inevitably we'll find more so the product becomes more secure. -- Niels.