• Potiguar Faga (unregistered)

    That reminded me of "E-mails from an asshole" website. Cracks me up.

  • Jack (unregistered) in reply to Adam
    Adam:
    Meh. Yes, spammers deserve everything they get. OTOH, this does look rather a lot a continuation of the pattern that Being Female On The Net makes you fair game for romantic/sexual overtures from any males that you happen to interact with, (and that in this case, the femaleness of the spammer is the thing used to mock/attack her).

    No, I'm not saying that you meant it like that, but that's just how it looks, and I'm not 100% sure that it's a good thing to be perpetuating in a world where there's way too much of that sort of thing already.

    Feel free to call me a humo[u]rless killjoy etc., etc.

    I'm not quite sure how much I agree, but good point.

    And to all the people saying, "How do you know the spammer was really female?" - it doesn't matter. Whether the spammer is secretly a man or a robot, this article could still be seen as a statement to real women that this is what you get for being female online.

  • Cowtowncoder (unregistered) in reply to Adam

    You are assuming this would not be done for a male ad sales rep. But considering gender roles in question, I think it'd be bit harder to get the whole thing going for that long.

    Having played MUDs in the past, I think by far the BEST thing to do is to use trans-gender roles, a la Crying Games. But that does require names to be compatible, alas, so instead of Alex, one would need a name like Lexi or Alexa or something.

  • drewster2000 (unregistered)

    I think it's brilliant. I hear what Adam's saying, but sometimes I just tired of the assembly-line crap they spew out and want to have some fun in return. I kind of look at it as their opportunity to pay me back for wasting my time.

    It reminds me of a prank I once heard on the radio. Some telemarketer called and the guy he called was ready for him. He said the person they were calling, "Mr. Smith" had actually just died in a homicide and they were contacting everyone he knew in order to rule out suspects. They had the telemarketer peeing his pants.

    It also reminded me of the flip side of this. I saw a YouTube video recently where a girl texted a guy and wanted to be friends. After weeks of texting and him finally agreeing to be her friend, they met face to face in a pizza parlor. Once she figured out that he already had a credit card, she dumped him. She worked for a credit card company and it was her job to be a girlfriend in order to get customers. So it cuts both ways...

  • Garrison Fiord (unregistered) in reply to drewster2000
    drewster2000:
    I think it's brilliant. I hear what Adam's saying, but sometimes I just tired of the assembly-line crap they spew out and want to have some fun in return. I kind of look at it as their opportunity to pay me back for wasting my time.

    It reminds me of a prank I once heard on the radio. Some telemarketer called and the guy he called was ready for him. He said the person they were calling, "Mr. Smith" had actually just died in a homicide and they were contacting everyone he knew in order to rule out suspects. They had the telemarketer peeing his pants.

    It also reminded me of the flip side of this. I saw a YouTube video recently where a girl texted a guy and wanted to be friends. After weeks of texting and him finally agreeing to be her friend, they met face to face in a pizza parlor. Once she figured out that he already had a credit card, she dumped him. She worked for a credit card company and it was her job to be a girlfriend in order to get customers. So it cuts both ways...

    You are so gullible.

  • plaga (unregistered)

    Very lame, alex Boring and lame you're a duche

  • foo2 (unregistered) in reply to Garrison Fiord
    Garrison Fiord:
    drewster2000:
    I think it's brilliant. I hear what Adam's saying, but sometimes I just tired of the assembly-line crap they spew out and want to have some fun

    ...blah blah...

    it was her job to be a girlfriend in order to get customers. So it cuts both ways...

    You are so gullible.

    But it was on the internet! THE INTERNET!

  • plaga (unregistered) in reply to PedanticCurmudgeon
    PedanticCurmudgeon:
    I don't get it. Is the WTF that Alex spent so much time trolling/flirting with a spammer that most likely looks nothing like that picture?

    alex is a perv

  • Jack (unregistered) in reply to Pastebreath
    Pastebreath:
    My dearest Adam, I suspect the fat and balding spammer pretended to be a female for precisely that reason.

    So what you're implying is that there are certain roles women don't belong in, and so we should expect any such people claiming to be women to be frauds who deserve, and probably event want, any harrassment we throw at them. Does that pretty much summarize your position?

  • Friedrice the Great (unregistered) in reply to PedanticCurmudgeon
    PedanticCurmudgeon:
    NaN (Not a Name):
    Seul:
    Ralph? linkedin.com/pub/amy-thompson/51/124/965

    Now I actually feel bad for her.

    You should. Given that stories here are usually anonymized, it's a safe bet she had nothing to do with any of this.

    Hmm, I got the same spam email, also with Amy Thompson's name. I feel special now!

  • Friedrice the Great (unregistered) in reply to Jack
    Jack:
    Pastebreath:
    My dearest Adam, I suspect the fat and balding spammer pretended to be a female for precisely that reason.

    So what you're implying is that there are certain roles women don't belong in, and so we should expect any such people claiming to be women to be frauds who deserve, and probably event want, any harrassment we throw at them. Does that pretty much summarize your position?

    IMO women are too smart of become spammers.

  • Tom (unregistered)

    I can only wonder if you took inspiration from David Thorne?

    http://www.27bslash6.com/overdue.html

  • Tom (unregistered) in reply to Potiguar Faga

    http://www.27bslash6.com/overdue.html ?

  • Lauren Cooper (unregistered)

    Alex, Would you take her to a stroll on a winter day and show her the magnificent lake view? Because I'm quite sure you did that last time with a "girl".

  • Juan (unregistered) in reply to Adam
    Adam:
    Meh. Yes, spammers deserve everything they get. OTOH, this does look rather a lot a continuation of the pattern that Being Female On The Net makes you fair game for romantic/sexual overtures from any males that you happen to interact with, (and that in this case, the femaleness of the spammer is the thing used to mock/attack her).

    No, I'm not saying that you meant it like that, but that's just how it looks, and I'm not 100% sure that it's a good thing to be perpetuating in a world where there's way too much of that sort of thing already.

    Feel free to call me a humo[u]rless killjoy etc., etc.

    Yes, because Amy is really a girl and not some bloke who is posing as a girl in an attempt to lure otherwise savvy computer nerds into assisting with the promotion of their site....

  • Martin (unregistered) in reply to Adam

    On the other hand, this being the internet and everything, no one can tell for sure if "Amy" is really female.

  • Red Stripe (unregistered) in reply to Adam

    Humorless killjoy!

  • (cs) in reply to Martin
    Martin:
    On the other hand, this being the internet and everything, no one can tell for sure if "Amy" is really female.

    First step was to search her LinkedIn pic on TinEye, didn't come up with any matches...

  • educated bloke (unregistered) in reply to Jack
    Jack:
    And to all the people saying, "How do you know the spammer was really female?" - it doesn't matter. ... this article could still be seen as a statement to real women that this is what you get for being female online.

    Or, this article [i]could[/] be seen as a statment to real women that this is what you get for being a male online. Only dishonest attempts to exploit our sexuality.

    Never any humanity. Very little civility or friendliness, and none of that from women.

  • Matt (unregistered) in reply to Adam

    While I agree with your general point, spammers often play on "femaleness". I would be really skeptical about whether the spammer was actually a female.

  • Tatterdemalion (unregistered)

    It was nine o'clock at midnight at a quarter after three When a turtle met a bagpipe on the shoreside by the sea, And the turtle said, "My dearie, May I sit with you? I'm weary." And the bagpipe didn't say no. Said the turtle to the bagpipe, "I have walked this lonely shore, I have talked to waves and pebbles--but I've never loved before. Will you marry me today, dear? Is it 'No' you're going to say dear?" But the bagpipe didn't say no.

    Said the turtle to his darling, "Please excuse me if I stare, But you have the plaidest skin, dear, And you have the strangest hair. If I begged you pretty please, love, Could I give you just one squeeze, love?" And the bagpipe didn't say no.

    Said the turtle to the bagpipe, "Ah, you love me. Then confess! Let me whisper in your dainty ear and hold you to my chest." And he cuddled her and teased her And so lovingly he squeezed her. And the bagpipe said, "Aaooga."

    Said the turtle to the bagpipe, "Did you honk or bray or neigh? For 'Aaooga' when your kissed is such a heartless thing to say. Is it that I have offended? Is it that our love is ended?" And the bagpipe didn't say no.

    Said the turtle to the bagpipe, "Shall i leave you, darling wife? Shall i waddle off to Woedom? Shall i crawl out of your life? Shall I move, depart and go, dear-- Oh, I beg you tell me 'No' dear!" But the bagpipe didn't say no.

    So the turtle crept off crying and he ne'er came back no more, And he left the bagpipe lying on that smooth and sandy shore. And some night when tide is low there, Just walk up and say, "Hello, there," And politely ask the bagpipe if this story's really so. I assure you, darling children, the bagpipe won't say "No."

  • (cs) in reply to PedanticCurmudgeon
    PedanticCurmudgeon:
    NaN (Not a Name):
    Seul:
    Ralph? linkedin.com/pub/amy-thompson/51/124/965

    Now I actually feel bad for her.

    You should. Given that stories here are usually anonymized, it's a safe bet she had nothing to do with any of this.

    No, the screen grab shows the URL of the site, and it has a menu link to "Amy's profile on Linked-In". She is the real deal.

    Also, anyone who lists one of their skills as "PHP/JAVA SCRIPT" deserves any kind of beat down they receive.

  • TheSHEEEP (unregistered) in reply to Prosthetic Lips
    Prosthetic Lips:
    Also, anyone who lists one of their skills as "PHP/JAVA SCRIPT" deserves any kind of beat down they receive.
    Yes, because JAVA SCRIPT is "teh evil!". Please go back to whatever "country" you come from.
  • Amy (unregistered) in reply to Adam

    You're a humo[u]rless killjoy, etc.

  • (cs)

    I f you liked this, look at http://www.419eater.com which is dedicated to baiting scammers.

  • iMalc (unregistered) in reply to Adam

    "Being Female On The Net" ... also known as ... "A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing"

  • TruesBob (unregistered)

    If you seek Amy, google her

  • Its needs saying (unregistered) in reply to Adam

    humo[u]rless killjoy etc., etc

  • (cs)

    If you hadn't got so blinded by the thought of dealing with a woman you could have got rich, and lots more hits for your site...

  • Mary Davey (unregistered)

    If you have the time it can be worth the effort to engage in a conversation. I recently received a phone call from "Windows Support" about some problems they had found on my computer. This nice guy in California (with a strong Indian accent, and yes I know he was in Calcutta) spent quarter of an hour guiding me through the steps to show what a lot of "bad things" I had on my computer. It was only when he wanted me to open a website in a Flag of Convenience domain that we parted company. I felt it was better to waste quarter of an hour of my time than have him talking to someone who would be taken in.

  • (cs) in reply to geocities
    geocities:
    Abico:
    No guarantee it's not Ralph, but not likely.

    That's a pretty small sample size though. 789 penpals. And one of them calls himself CYBORG.

    I've never heard of a Kenneth in the bible but the other top names there are all biblical. The name Emmanuel appears in the early chapters of the book of Isaiah.

    Ralph is not a biblical name but the name Rafael (or Raphael) does, being one of the angels.

  • Bob the Builder (unregistered)

    What I don't understand, is their entire reasoning:

    "We randomly found your website online. It's hard to find it, so we'll help you make it possible to find it."

    There's one hell of a logical fallacy in their reasoning.

  • Jibble (unregistered) in reply to Adam
    Adam:
    Meh. Yes, spammers deserve everything they get. OTOH, this does look rather a lot a continuation of the pattern that Being Female On The Net makes you fair game for romantic/sexual overtures from any males that you happen to interact with, (and that in this case, the femaleness of the spammer is the thing used to mock/attack her).

    Is that in the same group of patterns where men pretend to be females in order to get gullible men to do things for them?

  • (cs)

    Sorry Alex, but Amy is no Irish Girl.

  • (cs) in reply to Amy (another Amy)
    Amy (another Amy):
    No, you're right. Fucking with spammers is funny, harassing them isn't. Even if they graciously ignore it in the interest of doing their job.

    Are you implying that being an internet fiend is somehow a legitimate occupation?:O

  • Marvin (unregistered) in reply to Adam

    You humorless killjoy... :p

    I doubt that the Nigerian spammer is female, most likely using the finer sex as a way to generate responses... So HE fired first!!!

    That was a fun read Alex:)

    See what I did there?

    :)

  • Cerebrado (unregistered)

    I LOL while I was reading your article (most of them in your site are this good!). Sadly, my wife Amy was fired from her job, because her boss said she was flirting instead of working. That's ok, shit h*ppens :P

  • cq (unregistered)

    Alex, regardless of the fact that everybody hates spammers, it's not ok to pertetuate the idea that anybody appearing female on the internet is an invitation for you to flirt with or sexually harass. Did this site not just recently have an article about sexism and discrimation against women in IT? Rather dissapointed.

  • Amy_Dose (unregistered)

    If you liked this WTF, we suspect you will also be interested in the various published correspondances on:

    dontevenreply.com

  • Malcom Tucker (unregistered) in reply to Helix

    It doesn't make sense at all right

  • Jack (unregistered)

    I don't understand why so many people assume a spammer can't be a real woman. That assertion is more sexist than anything Alex said in the original post.

    What would the spammer's motivation be for impersonating a woman? The claim is that he is trying to lure in ordinarily savvy men by using assumed feminine wiles. But:

    1.) The spammer did no such thing. S/he was all business, at least until Alex tried to make it "romantic," at which point s/he is only guilty of playing along just enough to make Alex post the article.

    2.) Would such a ploy, if s/he had even tried it, really work on any of you? I hope not.

    Have you ever met a spammer? What makes you think you know their demographics? Women are just as capable of selling out / pure evil / whatever you want to call it - as men are.

  • Alex (unregistered) in reply to Adam

    I'd say there's at least a 50% chance that Amy Thompson is a fake name anyway

  • jay (unregistered) in reply to Friedrice the Great
    Jack:
    So what you're implying is that there are certain roles women don't belong in, and so we should expect any such people claiming to be women to be frauds who deserve, and probably event want, any harrassment we throw at them. Does that pretty much summarize your position?

    Now that you've explained it ... yeah, that sounds pretty plausible.

  • jay (unregistered) in reply to drewster2000
    drewster2000:
    It also reminded me of the flip side of this. I saw a YouTube video recently where a girl texted a guy and wanted to be friends. After weeks of texting and him finally agreeing to be her friend, they met face to face in a pizza parlor. Once she figured out that he already had a credit card, she dumped him. She worked for a credit card company and it was her job to be a girlfriend in order to get customers. So it cuts both ways...

    Hmm, if someone is really using that as a marketing technique, it seems pretty inefficient. How much work is she going to do to get ONE new credit card customer? Days and days of flirting on chat lines, than going on dates, etc, just to get one new customer? It just seems rather unlikely, and if someone really is doing it, I doubt they're making money at it.

    And BTW, why would she give up upon learning that he "already had a credit card". Lots of people have more than one credit card. I have eight if you include store cards and company cards. But if some pretty young lady wants to hit on me and go out on a few dates with me to sell me another, I'm game.

  • Andrew (unregistered) in reply to Adam

    Why would you think "Amy" is female?

  • Buster (unregistered) in reply to Adam

    You are of course assuming that "Amy" is female...

  • SecureGuy (unregistered)

    Here's the attachment you were looking for!

    http://m1.licdn.com/media/p/4/000/162/0c2/2f655d7.jpg

  • Old Crow T. Robot (unregistered)

    Reading through the comments with all the "alex is teh pigs!" lines, I susp[ect the real victim of the troll isn't a spammer.

    Nagesh pretends to be Amy (show me one Texan that says kindly and holiday instead of vacation).

    Alex trolls Nagesh to waste his time. Alex adds in the creep factor knowing fully well the spammer is not of the female configuration to make the scammer feel awkward. Alex then takes the troll just beyond the point of where it becomes awkward per true comedic timing. Alex posts the results, inadvertently trolling all the humo[u]rless killjoys.

    Or wait. Was the humo[u]rless killjoy ALSO troll? Did I bite? I'm so confused. Its a troll wrapped in a troll wrapped another troll. Its. TROLLCEPTION.

  • Old Crow T. Robot (unregistered) in reply to Old Crow T. Robot
    Me:
    I susp[ect the

    Sciencedammit, I even previewed before submitting.

  • Xu Dong (unregistered) in reply to Adam

    lol :3 PS IM GAY

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