Call for Technical Support

Published

on February 25, 2011

. 11 Comments

WordPress (which provides the software that drives this blog) provides me with a button that says “delete all spam”. I keep pushing the button, but I’ve noticed that there’s still spam on the Internet. Do I just have to push harder, or what?

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11 Responses to “Call for Technical Support”

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1 1 Sam
February 25, 2011 at 8:15 am

The most playful I’ve seen you so far Steve
2 2 David Pinto
February 25, 2011 at 8:44 am

Stop! You’re deleting the wrong spam! I was at Costco yesterday and saw an entire pallet of the canned meat wink out of existence.
3 3 Ken B
February 25, 2011 at 9:46 am

Steve: Call the help desk and tell them your universal quantifier needs replacing.
4 4 turang
February 25, 2011 at 9:48 am

Nobler attempts at this have been futile. See

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200203/ldhansrd/vo030506/text/30506-03.htm#30506-03_head0
5 5 dave
February 25, 2011 at 10:47 am

one mans spam is anothers bread and butter.
6 6 GregS
February 25, 2011 at 11:25 am

Love it! Thanks for this, Steve.
7 7 Doctor Memory
February 25, 2011 at 12:01 pm

If only!

(Sadly, spam is an economic issue, and one that is unlikely to ever go away absent a complete reworking of the basic plumbing of the internet in a way that none of us would actually like.)
8 8 Silas Barta
February 25, 2011 at 12:16 pm

This is actually one of the smarter things Steve_Landsburg has said.
9 9 Will A
February 25, 2011 at 12:22 pm

Prof. Landsburg:

Here is my half joking/half serious reply to your half joking/half serious post would be why do want to eliminate spam on the internet?

I see no problem with you deciding to use a service that blocks e-mail you don’t want to receive. This is your choice.

But why do you want to eliminate all spam.

The folks using spam to build wealth are probably not getting many government subsidies. They seem to be good examples of extremely lean money making machines.

Of course the best solution to spam would be to use a National Don’t E-mail registry where any company selling products via e-mail would need to register itself with the government. U.S. citizens could register their e-mails that should not get solicitations.

This way our tax dollars can be used to fund a government program that hinders businesses by both forcing them to register with the government and prevent them doing business. Our tax dollars could also be used to prosecute businesses trying to build wealth.

Anyway thanks for the post. I need to get going. I just won $ 100,000 and all I need to do is to send a $ 500 money-gram to Nigeria to claim my prize.
10 10 Mike H
February 27, 2011 at 10:27 pm

I notice WordPress just released version 3.1. Upgrade and try again.
11 11 Adam
March 2, 2011 at 10:57 am

You have to wait for the man in the fedora to come and explain that you can push the button to stop the spam, but if you do someone will die.