Mortaine’s Blog

I got a spam last night (SpamAssassin score 3.1) and I can’t tell if it’s REAL spam, a spam “feeler” (an email to check if an address is valid before putting you on a list), or just a clueless reader. It was written in HTML-Mail on Outlook Express, by someone whose domain is northweb.com.

Thing is, I wrote a book on HTML for clueless newbies, so it’s possible this person found my site through that and is contacting me (note: the email address the spam was received at isn’t the one listed in the book, so they would have just searched and received my site which lists the book and HTML as a topic). I do not see any obvious spam IDs in the message headers (like a long alpha-numeric code that tells the spammer which spam messages got through).

I hesitate to answer because if it is spam, I don’t want to encourage them. I am considering it though, because if it’s a clueless newbie reader, I’d like to be all helpful and stuff and sell my book.

Subject: want to buy html

Hello, I happin to run accross your web page and found what I am looking =
for, HTML. I see that you have plugins but, are they the full plugins =
and not demos. Everytime I run into html they will give you html and =
charge for the rest, I want it all, everything I can get. I have a =
website with nothing in it, I no html, not much on java. My book gives =
me alittle on it, but I never realy got into it until latly. If you do =
give the full version, I will get it....Thanks Paul...

So. . . . what should I do?

Borrowed from

Five things that I really liked as a teenager but that I don’t care for much now:
Playing music (I like it, but not as much)
Spacing out to music
Camping/backpacking
Driving (some things lose their appeal)
Manipulating people

Five things I didn’t care for when I was a teenager but that I really like now:
Coffeeeeee
Writing nonfiction
Journaling
Sushi
Rap music

Five things I’ve always really liked and very likely always will:
Computers and science
Games (esp. RPGs)
Storytelling and writing
Reading
Eating

Five things I’ve never much cared for and very likely never will:
Art museums
My mother’s husband (sorry, Mom)
Cigarette Smoke (which has claimed the lives of two of my grandparents and has contributed to the five cases of pneumonia I’ve had in my lifetime– yeah, I have a grudge with R.J. Reynolds!)
Exercise
People who hit or kick dogs or think that hitting is an acceptable form of discipline for them