What's that - data access 'transparency' or a new kind of blackmail?

[Gabriele Neukam]

Today I received this:


----- snip -----
You are receiving this email because *someone* found you when searching
for you or for *somebody related to* you on Whozat, The People Search
Engine. We wanted to share this information with you and let you know
some of what they found!

In addition, we are offering you a free Whozat membership that allows
you to see the complete set of search results for yourself and others,
and to perform an unlimited number of queries. Please accept your
invitation by going to
http://www.whozat.com/auth/register/...hozat_39642_39

Some of the most significant words in the search results were:
wrote, forum, archive, please consider

Some of the web pages that the searcher found were:
http://www.gamesforum.ca/archive/index.php/t-19418.html
http://www.smstoday.co.uk/blog/2007/04/
http://talkaboutvideo.com/group/alt....testposts.html
http://www.talkaboutvideo.com/group/....dvd.complain/
http://qaix.com/software-computer-he...ers-read.shtml


Here are a few more good reasons to use Whozat:
- Whozat outsearched Google 3 to 1 in a blind comparison.
- Whozat tops AltSearchEngines ranking of Search Engines in Stealth.
- Whozat was named one of the hottest start-ups by renowned technology
blog TechCrunch.

We hope to welcome you to Whozat today!

The Whozat Founders
founders@whozat.com
Whozat, Inc.
P.O. Box 6332
Altadena, CA 91003-6332

If you would like not to receive any further communication from us,
please send email to unsubscribe@whozat.com.
----- snip -----

Looking at the results provided in the mail I found that one link
points to a mirror of usenet groups, and rather old. All others won't
mention me at all. No wonder, as I am neither interested in *any* kind
of messaging nor any movies. Go figure.

So, contrary to their claims they are obviously worse than Google
Groups, which wouldn't miss that grossly.

What does that mean? Do they want me to pull into their Idunnowhatitis,
is it meant as a warning that they now have me entrenched in their data
files and will begin to pummel me with their useless "notifications"?
Will they (ab)use my adress (which has been the target of spammers for
years) and sell it to other persons?

Why do they want me to *opt out* though I never have visited their
domain at all? They even conceded that "someone else" (I would rally
like to know who, after they had given my address away so graciously)
did it, a person which must have inadvertently hit a few links while
looking up a few unimportant discussions.

Is this a new kind of "user embrace", meaning: either follow our rules
or you'll never ever get out of our data files again?


Annoyed,

Gabriele Neukam

Gabriele.Spamfighter.Neukam@t-online.de

--
If everybody started to do what they think should be done for the
common
good, democracy would not exist anymore.
-
Guillermito in alt.comp.virus

[Rhonda Lea Kirk Fries]

Gabriele Neukam wrote:
> Today I received this:

<snipped>

> Looking at the results provided in the mail I found that one link
> points to a mirror of usenet groups, and rather old. All others won't
> mention me at all. No wonder, as I am neither interested in *any* kind
> of messaging nor any movies. Go figure.
>
> So, contrary to their claims they are obviously worse than Google
> Groups, which wouldn't miss that grossly.

The website says it's still in beta.

> What does that mean? Do they want me to pull into their
> Idunnowhatitis, is it meant as a warning that they now have me
> entrenched in their data files and will begin to pummel me with their
> useless "notifications"? Will they (ab)use my adress (which has been
> the target of spammers for years) and sell it to other persons?
>
> Why do they want me to *opt out* though I never have visited their
> domain at all? They even conceded that "someone else" (I would rally
> like to know who, after they had given my address away so graciously)
> did it, a person which must have inadvertently hit a few links while
> looking up a few unimportant discussions.
>
> Is this a new kind of "user embrace", meaning: either follow our rules
> or you'll never ever get out of our data files again?

http://www.abinventio.com/

http://www.ostina.org/content/view/3042/

They claim to have been recognized by TechCrunch, but I can't find any
such recognition.

> Annoyed,
>
> Gabriele Neukam
>
> Gabriele.Spamfighter.Neukam@t-online.de

--
Rhonda Lea Kirk Fries

If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will
scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will
refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something
which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he
will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is
explained in this way. - Bertrand Russell

[Charani]

On Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:18:21 +0200, Gabriele Neukam wrote:

8>< snip
> In addition, we are offering you a free Whozat membership that allows
> you to see the complete set of search results for yourself and others,
> and to perform an unlimited number of queries.
8>< snip

That's the key part. I doubt anyone was searching for you and it's
more likely to be a spam mail, esp as it has a referral code in the
URL.

I've had similar mails from sites claiming that someone is/was looking
for me but they were sent to an address I wouldn't use for such a site
plus if someone was looking for me, I'm easy enough to find without
the use of such a site. One favourite is that an old friend had found
me in a year book. Year books are an American thing and I'm not
American so I couldn't have been found in one.