Telus Like It Is!

SUBJECT: Group Mailing
Imagine you want to throw a birthday-bash for Grampa - so everybody living all over the map has to be invited months ahead of the event. With not all atwitter, facebooking, and calling them individually costing a fortune (you know how it is: getting stuck on the phone with Mom!), also to save time: invites have to go out by e-mail.
To make that as simple as possible you put everybody into an UNDISCLOSED LIST/GROUP on your PC - and the invite only has to be written once. Click SEND! Done!

Over time you may follow-up with a few more of these group-mailings to get everything just so for the big day.

SUBJECT: Spamalot
But - if some in that repeat-group have a telus.net account - TELUS may identify these group-mailings as SPAM! And DELETE the telus.net portions just like that! Not return them: delete as in gone! While only those with a different INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER (ISP) will get theirs.
Happy Birthday, Grampa!

And - be still, poor heart - if you subsequently attempt to message any of these TELUS-contacts individually: same thing! Your IP (INTERNET PROTOCOL) ADDRESS - once blocked as SPAM-identifier of the repeat-group - will pop-up ever after. Promptly swallowing individually sent messages also!

Imagine the impact this simplistic - and among ISPs singular! - GROUP-equals-SPAM approach can have on TELUS customers - period. Certain very big and very known group-mailers seem immune and get through to them - but with a sender's IP ADDRESS not matching a prearranged good-to-go construct within the TELUS modus operandi - red lights flash, bells ring! You're out!

SUBJECT: NOT SPAM!
The above has been my experience with this blog and TELUS - for several years having notified readers in groups of around 20 of a new post. Without a hitch - except I know from 2 of my (fortunately!) only 6 telus.net contacts - out of several hundred with different ISPs: for some time, they have received neither links to new posts nor individual person-to-person messages like: how can this be? The other 4 haven't replied, and how could they: if they didn't receive my inquiry to begin with!

So I call TELUS. The rep guesses: somebody must have reported abuse, possibly even a hundred - who knows. She clearly doesn't! I sort this for her: with only 6 telus.nets who wouldn't complain - why would 100 non-telus.nets report so-called abuse to TELUS while not to their own ISPs?
And what abuse? Seeing the blog is not pushing any kind of illegal issue, Nigerian fundraising or marketing of New! Improved! products - and these brief post-reminders in themselves totally innocuous.

The TELUS-rep realizes there are flaws in their ointment and will take it up with the TEAM. In order to have me unblocked, she needs the link to the blog and gives me a superspecial telus.net address to send it to - while she waits on the phone.
My requested very basic message arrives in the TELUS-rep's office as - drum-roll!!! - SPAM!!! She is surprised - I am not!
I am to hear from her by phone within 48 hours that I, indeed, am not an evil spammer: henceforth off their no-fly list. One week and one e-mail reminder to the superspecial e-mail address later: nothing!

Not a telus.net subscriber myself this is only an annoyance to me - but much more to my telus.net contacts who have to put-up with this limited/limiting while full-price(y) service.
How could I possibly be the only one TELUS is happening to this way! 

TELUS! TELUS! TELUS!

 
SUBJECT: SPAM Control!
Nobody likes SPAM - the real thing - thus not receiving any at all ever is the way to go for many. Let the ISP deal with it: delete, delete, delete!
What many don't consider in their urge to unclutter - there's nobody there there determining pros and contras of individual messages. With TELUS it's a computer-program designed to make extremely narrow assumptions/decisions about sender and message.
Meaning: messages of direct importance to both - sender/addressee, grouped or singly - may not be DELIVERED! And dumped!

There obviously is convenience in having incoming mail presorted. This either needs a separate box for SPAM, or an individual message is identified as possibly being SPAM.
Different ISPs have their own ways of identifying then dealing with it. None are totally fool-proof, just as long as subscribers receive everything sent to them - unless otherwise agreed.
Personal choice!

Some ways of cutting-down on receiving INTERNET Spamalot:
1.
Don't post COMMENTS, participate in POLLS and SURVEYS - unless there's a direct personal connection. Even just clicking on Yes or No will register your IP ADDRESS. Which remains in that particular system!
Proof: If you think you can further your agenda by repeat-voting/thumb-indicating on the same issue - you will be told you have voted already, or your click will be ignored.
What/how you comment, vote, answer determines your value to specific commercial-interest groups ready to pounce!
2.
Never sign-up for Tips on anything.
3.
Never open SPAM!

Of course - how to control SPAM at its source is another matter!

 Bottom-line: All connections made from your computer make its DNA - your IP ADDRESS - available for harvesting. Often sold and resold on lists. As are - you! The more social media you subscribe to and interact through indiscriminately - the more you open yourself to cyberspace-junk floating around out there - including SPAM!






                         You're lonely - get a goldfish!