News Site Blames Spam on “Email Retards” 7/15/2005 - 934 views, 5 Comments
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Reporting on a study which found that as many as thirty-nine percent of all email users admit to clicking on the links contained in spam, the news site The Inquirer has christened the spam link clickers “email retards”. Interestingly, the report, put out by Radicati Group, is the same report which earlier this year prompted Information Week to say that email users are ignorant. What is it about the Radicati Group which engenders such animosity towards email users? Radicati’s public statements seem perfectly reasonable. Says Marcel Nienhuis, a market anaylst with Radicati, “If the promotion in the spam sounds too good to be true, it probably is. User education and implementation of smart practices when dealing with spam, such as not opening unidentified messages, will be crucial in discouraging spammers. If people stop buying products from spam, spam would probably go away.” No name-calling there. So what is it? And no matter what it is, “retards”? Gosh, Aunty is about as un-PC as they come, but even she knows that is a pretty poor choice of words. Of course, the Inquirer’s reporter, Guy Matthews, is way behind the ball on this one, given that the Radicati study came out in March (which is when Information Week issued their now-infamous “users are ignorant” coverage). Perhaps Matthews is just slower to simmer.
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Most of us PC users over 65 know what “free” means or the “best-deal” around is, $$$! So . . . if you want to stick the blame label on anyone person or group, why not the manufacture? Every small, and large appliance in my home came with a manual, at least the first page or 2 had the “red-warnings” in them.
Comment by Wanda — 7/16/2005 @ 6:51 am
Aunty, you’re right, retards is quite harsh.
perhaps e-tards would be a better fit.
Comment by Jim Bob — 7/16/2005 @ 5:54 pm
e-Tards sounds appropriate for users that use email without using their heads. The folks at the gym I go to call people that pay good money for iPods, ‘i-Tards’, considering that there are so many devices out there that have better capabilities for less money. Built-in FM tuners… smaller form factors… voice recorders… direct disk access… more media formats…
Comment by la_bruin — 7/17/2005 @ 12:59 am
iTards! You’ve made my day! I wonder why Apple calls them iPods, when they are really earPods? Tarrr-day!
Comment by Don B. Levathing — 7/20/2005 @ 12:39 pm
[QUOTE]perhaps e-tards would be a better fit.[/QUOTE] i agree this suits!!
Comment by vorticulon — 7/20/2005 @ 1:38 pm