Well, as I said the other day, I'd traded voice mail msgs with Jeff Slaton.
Today we finally talked on the phone for about fifteen minutes.  He is very
charming, personable, and professional on the phone.
 
I acted like a newbie who has used the nets for a couple of emails and
had looked at Netscape a couple times.
 
Following is a close to a transcription as I could get with scribbly notes.
All is his claims, comments, answers to questions.  My comments in response
are in [  ].
 
He said that he sends the email to 6-8 million people.
He sends to 3 million addresses that he has in his own database, which
he continually updates, and are over 90 percent good addresses.  [that
explains the 'extra' personal copies of spams that I've seen]
 
He sends to "all professional mailing lists", which means he sends a message
to "an electronic postmaster" and that sends it out to 1.5 million members
of the mailing lists.  Some have as few as 50 members and some have over
50,000 members.  He also sends to 95,000 newsgroups or "electronic bulletin
boards for specific subjects", and they cover all kinds of professional
and hobby and recreational subjects.
 
He charges $425 (U.S.) and will take personal checks (waits ten days to
clear) or money orders or certified checks.  I asked about credit cards.
He said no credit cards because "even though I'm sure you're an honest
gentleman" that some folks aren't honest and try to cancel the charge
after he's already done the work for them.  [What a surprise!  Wonder why
they would do THAT?  o-)   ]
 
I said that it sounded like $425 was pretty high for just sending a message
out.  He said that he had developed "a vast amount of programming" and that
it takes him 8 hours to do it for you.
 
I asked if he does it from his own computer.  He answered that I have to
get a shell account with a local ISP and send him the money, the logon and
password to my Unix shell account, and an email telling him what he is to
send out.  Then he does it "late at night when things aren't so busy,
usually between ten pm and 8 in the morning".
 
He emphasized that I WOULD get responses, and that even 0.1 percent would
be 6,000 messages.  He said he wasn't accountable for the response, but
that I WOULD get one, and that if I weren't satisfied with the response
he'd repost it to all the groups for me.  [that would take someone REALLY
stupid]   He also said that if I knew of any groups that he missed, that
he'd send the message to them personally.
 
I asked about sending it to just groups that might be more interested
in my product [which I didn't disclose to him "because my lawyer said I
shouldn't yet" (and also because I didn't think one up that quickly)].
He said he could do that, but since it would take "lots more programming"
that he'd have to charge me for, and since I wouldn't get "as much
coverage to as many potential buyers" that he wouldn't recommend it and
no one had yet chosen that option.
 
He says that my post, if he were to do one for me, would be his "108th
advertising message on the internet" and that "all of the other customers
have been very satisfied".  He claims to have had repeat orders already.
 
I asked how he got into this business.  He said that he was in his 40's and
semi-retired from the corporate rat race.  Now that he does this it is his
only job.
 
On the phone he sounded like a VERY smooth used car salesman....very polished
and professional.  Actually more like a junk bond salesman.  Knew all the
right words, was able to explain things less technically when I sounded
particularly dumb.
 
Please feel free to forward this to NetNews or whatever.
 
And, since the "advertiser" has to get his/her own account, it looks
like figuring out the "pattern" to Slaton's obtaining accounts is no longer
relevant.  At least theoretically, ALL internet users are now potential
spammers with Slaton's help.  AND, it seems that he keeps his nose clean
with this new method...since _I_ would be the one in deep stuff with my
ISP for spamming, giving someone else access to my account, etc, and NOT
Slaton.  In fact, I can't think of a thing anyone can get HIM for....which
is just what he wants.
 
cyclops
 
  Dan Lester, Network Information Coordinator
  Albertsons Library, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho 83725 USA
  [log in to unmask]             http://cyclops.idbsu.edu/
  How can one fool make another wise?  Kansas, "No One Together," 1979