Submitting samples

Please do not send me samples of spam, or suggestions for inclusions in any of the databases on this site.

I already get large amounts of spam each day; I would prefer not to receive yours as well. In addition, any message that you send me that contains sample spam is likely to be caught by my spam filters, so I will probably never see it.

The databases on this site represent a sample of spam, measured at several sampling points represented by some of the email addresses that I use. While I don't claim that this is scientifically rigorous, using only certain specific addresses to sample does let me get some idea of the volume and intensity of certain types or instances of spam. If I were to include samples or suggestions from other people, this would not be the case.

Using only my own samples also allows me to perform some basic verification. If I were to accept nominations for inclusion in my databases, there's a danger that someone could try to use them to spread misinformation about an innocent party by falsely reporting spams to me.

Finally, because I receive large quantities of spam every day, any active spammer is very likely to send spam to one of my sampling addresses sooner or later, at which point they will be logged and added to the appropriate database. Even if the spammer who's currently bothering you isn't in my database yet, there's a good chance that they'll be included soon.

If you have other comments or questions about the information on these pages, or want to let me know about any errors, please feel free to contact me.