>>> Looks like typical spam email nonsense words.
>> ...except it's not email.
> 
> Granted, but a lot of the spam our server is blocking has much the same
> types of disconnected words. Guess it is some form of probe - if you reply
> to it, you're promptly buried - since some script or program somewhere
> is "listening". I. e. some people will be stupid enough to hit reply on
> that and say something like "huh? wrong number" and -that- signifies to
> whomever is spamming that that cellphone (email) is "alive" and being read
> by -someone-.

Yeah, it's a standard technique for email. I've never seen it used for 
SMS though...

(The other day, I made the mistake of clicking the "unsubscribe" link on 
a Computer Weekly email. Sense then I've started getting burried with 
emails from those morons!)

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Stefan Viljoen wrote:
> but usually the originator is paying real
> money for the messaging - this limits spam.

Plus, at least in the US, the carriers keep tight reign over exactly what 
you can send and when, and they'll watch it, and they'll cut you off if you 
break their rules.

Before you can send an SMS via a shortcode (rather than thru a phone), you 
have to tell them exactly what will be in each SMS, as well as what will be 
on any web sites you run, down to the punctuation and spacing. If someone 
sends you the word "STOP" and you send them any messages after, your account 
turns off.

It's really rather draconian here. I'm amazed anyone manages to do any sort 
of business at all. Which is probably why smart phones (that bypass the 
carrier for data entirely) are so profitable here.

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   I ordered stamps from Zazzle that read "Place Stamp Here".

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On Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:16:20 +0000, Invisible wrote:

>>> Can you send SMS from a computer?
>> 
>> Yes.
> 
> 1. How on earth do you do that?

Google Voice.

Jim

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Invisible wrote:

>>>> Looks like typical spam email nonsense words.
>>> ...except it's not email.
> Yeah, it's a standard technique for email. I've never seen it used for
> SMS though...
> 
> (The other day, I made the mistake of clicking the "unsubscribe" link on
> a Computer Weekly email. Sense then I've started getting burried with
> emails from those morons!)

Blacklist 'em! Unless they're smart and use a migrating or false source...
-- 
Stefan Viljoen

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Darren New wrote:

> Stefan Viljoen wrote:
>> but usually the originator is paying real
>> money for the messaging - this limits spam.
> 
> Plus, at least in the US, the carriers keep tight reign over exactly what
> you can send and when, and they'll watch it, and they'll cut you off if
> you break their rules.

Hmm yeah. But that's the US - out here they don't do that at all - they just
send whatever you want, provided you have enough SMS credit left.
 
> Before you can send an SMS via a shortcode (rather than thru a phone), you
> have to tell them exactly what will be in each SMS, as well as what will
> be on any web sites you run, down to the punctuation and spacing. If
> someone sends you the word "STOP" and you send them any messages after,
> your account turns off.

Interesting! Is this law or just a particular company's policy?

> It's really rather draconian here. I'm amazed anyone manages to do any
> sort of business at all. Which is probably why smart phones (that bypass
> the carrier for data entirely) are so profitable here.
 
I've always thought an advantage of living in the third world is the lack of
regulation (or lack of knowledge, money, personnel, time, etc.) to enforce
much of existing regulations. Doing certain stuff is easier, but then
conversely you lack protection and safeties that first world citizens take
for granted.
-- 
Stefan Viljoen

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>> (The other day, I made the mistake of clicking the "unsubscribe" link on
>> a Computer Weekly email. Sense then I've started getting burried with
>> emails from those morons!)
> 
> Blacklist 'em! Unless they're smart and use a migrating or false source...

I don't think I can actually do that.

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Stefan Viljoen wrote:
> Hmm yeah. But that's the US - out here they don't do that at all - they just
> send whatever you want, provided you have enough SMS credit left.

This is a commercial account I'm talking about. If you're just talking about 
sending an SMS from a cell phone over the air, they don't monitor it all 
that closely.

>> Before you can send an SMS via a shortcode (rather than thru a phone), you
>> have to tell them exactly what will be in each SMS, as well as what will
>> be on any web sites you run, down to the punctuation and spacing. If
>> someone sends you the word "STOP" and you send them any messages after,
>> your account turns off.
> 
> Interesting! Is this law or just a particular company's policy?

Every company's policy, but not AFAIK law. Some sort of association rules, 
since any carrier can SMS to any other carrier.

> I've always thought an advantage of living in the third world is the lack of
> regulation (or lack of knowledge, money, personnel, time, etc.) to enforce
> much of existing regulations. Doing certain stuff is easier, but then
> conversely you lack protection and safeties that first world citizens take
> for granted.

Yes, and the problem is that it's far easier to abuse than it is to do 
something good that isn't permitted under regulation. :-) Thus the reason we 
think of "third-world countries" as worse places to live in general.

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   I ordered stamps from Zazzle that read "Place Stamp Here".

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Darren New wrote:

>> I've always thought an advantage of living in the third world is the lack
>> of regulation (or lack of knowledge, money, personnel, time, etc.) to
>> enforce much of existing regulations. Doing certain stuff is easier, but
>> then conversely you lack protection and safeties that first world
>> citizens take for granted.
> 
> Yes, and the problem is that it's far easier to abuse than it is to do
> something good that isn't permitted under regulation. :-) Thus the reason
> we think of "third-world countries" as worse places to live in general.
 
Well put, guess this is why so much spam comes from the Middle East and also
South America.

This makes me think of the house painter paradigm.

I talked to a Dutch visitor to South Africa a few years ago, and an amazing
tale he told was that how, in many municipalities or boroughs in Holland
you cannot paint your house the color you want. You first have to get a
permit (!) or certificate from the town council that says you're allowed to
paint your house whatever color. (And then you MUST use approved painters /
companies - you CANNOT do it yourself - against the law.)

Apparently there are certain colors that are "not allowed".

I wonder if this is true? Preposterous if it is.

That's just to illustrate - here, if you want to paint your house, you go
ahead and paint the bastard. No pussyfooting around with government
officials to get permission. On the flipside nobody to answer your 911 call
if that same house is on fire, and no fire engines or firemen to help put
the fire out.

-- 
Stefan Viljoen

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Stefan Viljoen wrote:
> I wonder if this is true? Preposterous if it is.

It's true of the neighborhood I live in, at least to the extent you have to 
get the color approved. But that's because nobody really wants to live next 
to a house painted with black and yellow stripes.  It's not a government 
body. It's essentially a corporation owned by all the homeowners in the 
neighborhood, chipping together to maintain the swimming pool and sweep the 
streets and stuff like that.

It hasn't turned out to be a problem in practice, altho of course everyone 
gets annoyed by the occasional petty official even at that level.

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   I ordered stamps from Zazzle that read "Place Stamp Here".

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Darren New wrote:

> Stefan Viljoen wrote:
>> I wonder if this is true? Preposterous if it is.
> 
> It's true of the neighborhood I live in, at least to the extent you have
> to get the color approved. But that's because nobody really wants to live
> next
> to a house painted with black and yellow stripes.  It's not a government
> body. It's essentially a corporation owned by all the homeowners in the
> neighborhood, chipping together to maintain the swimming pool and sweep
> the streets and stuff like that.

Amazing! So in the US this is done too? I'm assuming though you live in some
kind of gated community, not on a public, municipal plot?
 

-- 
Stefan Viljoen

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