What is Email Abuse?

Unfortunately a small number of people have abused the Internet in the past, and I feel it is important to make a statement here about that.

Legitimate complaints about service issues are always welcome. I want to be sure your experience here is a good one. I welcome all constructive inquiries and that includes criticism. In fact, some of the best letters I have gotten have been critical - they have helped me learn and grow. Don't be afraid to email me and tell me I messed something up.  An extremely small percentage of the email I get though is not constructive. I am a human being too, and that small percentage can really wreck my day. So here are some guidelines for what is and is not considered "abuse".
What is abuse	What is not abuse
Invective, abuse, name-calling. Telling me I am rude, stupid, or an idiot. Telling me "everyone knows (insert skeptical invective)". Telling me to "shut up" or "go offline", because you don't agree with my opinions or the way I phrase them, or because I made a mistake.	Tell me I am wrong, that my opinions are in error, or that my behavior is rude or offensive. Spell out why, tell me how I could have said the same thing a better way. We are both entitled to an opinion, and I am entitled to a different one from yours.
Any email sent that does not include a name and proper email address is abuse. If you want a response, you must include this - if you want an anonymous shot below the belt, well, that's abuse. I log your IP address and time of use on my forms. This kind of abuse WILL be reported to your ISP, and it CAN be traced.	A fair and reasonable argument is acceptable, and welcome! I will be as respectful to you as you are to me.
Any form of spelling flame, grammatical flame, "missing link" flame is abuse.	If you include the URL where an inappropriate grammar/spelling etc appears, include a proper email address and are respectful ... then bless you! I know I'm not perfect.
Telling me my writing, artwork, ideas or photos "suck" (or similar derivatives). If you have some specific, legitimate, criticism about why something "sucks" ... if not ... then it's just abuse.	I welcome critical feedback - I want to improve. I know I'm not perfect. Include specific URLs please. Include your photos, URLs or artwork, so I can evaluate your expertise.
Uninvited arguments from "concerned Christians" are absolutely unwelcome. I was raised in a Christian family - there is nothing that you can say that I am not already well aware of.	Sincere and polite questions from sincere and loving Christians about what psychics and astrologers actually believe are welcome.
Uninvited arguments from "Skeptics" that include abusive, defamatory, derogatory language (or the phrase "everyone knows" or similar rhetoric) are absolutely unwelcome.	Questions about what psychics & astrologers believe are welcome. However - please read this message before you email me.

I know I am not the only web developer who has had to deal with these kinds of messages. If you want to copy this page to use on your own site, please feel free to do so - all I ask is a reciprocal link back to my main page. 

Did you get a pornographic spam from Jasmine's Gallery or Astrology.ca?

Astrology.ca appears to be the victim of a spammer who is using a bogus email address which forges our domain name on the headers. If you got a message like this, please note it is a forgery - it did NOT originate from this domain.

I used to work for an ISP owned but Tucows.com back in the 1990's. I was responsible for writing their anti-spam policy. I was an early member of CAUCE-Canada, and was known for being somewhat ... "strident" in my battles against spam. The ISP was an early combatant in the battle against spam, being the first to successfully sue a spammer in Canada. So it distresses me to be a victim of this kind of attack. I am taking it personally and seriously - and will consider legal action if and when I am able to identify the guilty party or parties.

Unfortunately, this cowardly spammer is particularly good at hiding their identity behind forged headers. I have reported it to my web host, but they are unable to locate the perpetrator. 

Please do not send me complaints about this spam. There is nothing I can do about it right now - though I will consider legal action if I can locate the guilty party. If you are an anti-spammer, and have technical knowledge that would trace these headers to the guilty party though, I would greatly welcome your feedback. 

I am convinced no legitimate company would stoop to tactics this low and dirty. I have no doubt the offer itself is likely some kind of fraud. DO NOT PURCHASE services from this company or from any spammer - it is NOT endorsed by me or by Astrology.ca. If you have any information about this spam-forger, please, email me.

There is one other problem - it appears this spammer has also gotten infected from time to time with the usual email viruses, and sometimes virus-laced messages go out from their bogus accounts. I do not use Outlook Express for email, so these messages cannot be coming from me. I sometimes get bounced messages from inactive email accounts that are unknown to me, which is how I know this is happening.

Brandi Jasmine

Other sites by Brandi Jasmine:
Living With Your Psychic Gifts - Astrology.ca Horoscopes
Staci's Place: Stop Bullies - Jasmine's Carousel - JasmineCats.com

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