Make Love Not Spam

[ian]

http://makelovenotspam.com/

This is a venture by lycos to try to bring down big spamming websites - it is a screensaver that makes constant requests to spamming websites so that if enough people do it, their bandwidth bill is huge!

Sounds like a plan to me!

[NastyD]

Re: Make Love Not Spam

Interesting idea. I've looked it up on Google and it seems that there may be a couple of cons to the idea.

1 - Although Lycos say that because they don't actually bring any servers down then this does not represent a denial of service (which is illegal), I still wonder if a case could be made for a denial of service attack by the spammers because they could argue that legitimate requests could fail to get through. Also, because the requests are being sent by individual computers, could individuals be prosecuted in such a case?

2 - The screensaver is not actually a "screensaver". It apparently contains a static image in the middle of the screen. Although screen burn is not so much of an issue as it once was, it still can happen. I wouldn't run it on my PC for that reason.

[nasserd]

NastyD, you obviously have not read the technical details about it.

* Based on the definitions of a 'screensaver,' this program very much qualifies.

* As any given user did not create the program, they cannot be sued for using it. As long as they do not breach the terms of use agreement, then Lycos will ultimately be held responsible for any misgivings.

* Lastly, it downloads only 3-4MB per day (per 24-hr period, specifically). Considering how web host providers work, this is minimal. Since the 'bombardment of requests' is not meant to disable or hamper a network's infrastructure, then no malicious intent can be gathered... and if spammers complain, then it's their fault for bringing this upon them.

[influx]

Re: Make Love Not Spam

dead link