As both an affiliate and a publisher on Clickbank, I read your update with satisfaction; spam is at epidemic proportions and plagues all us all. It’s more than just a nuisance; it’s bad for the industry, and it’s bad karma. I’m sure I’m not alone in these feelings.

That being said, the idea of an industry ‘Blacklist’ is one that should be considered only with great care. The financial consequences for someone being wrongly blacklisted could be severe.

For some who engage in these types of nefarious practices, the ‘tools of the trade’ include the ability to spoof accounts, email addresses, even identities. A blacklist might only curtail the activities of the “greed as an easier, softer way” abuser.

As someone in this industry, I had suffered from the actions of a ‘greedy’ relative who decided to use my Paypal account. The account was closed, and I was ‘blacklisted’ at Paypal, unable even to open a new account. It took nearly a year to finally straighten it out. The fault was mine in not protecting access to my account better, but it illustrates what could happen to someone who actually did become a victim of a pilfered account.

Well done – that’s one for the good guys.

It is good to know that I am not the ONLY one in cyberspace that is trying to clean it up a little piece at a time.

On a similar note, but in a totally different ball park, I am constantly reporting spammers on Yahoo and also inappropriate profiles on MySpace. So far, my efforts have been VERY successful.

If everyone took a little time to help rid the Internet of these deranged and misguided people, it would be a whole lot better place to do business.

All the best.

Aussie John