Yes, We Have No "Revenge" Feature

Periodically users inquire if SpamButcher has a "revenge" option like some competing anti spam filters.

These products claim that they repeatedly download content from spammer's servers in an effort to cause them additional bandwidth consumption costing them money. Some even suggest the requests could slow their servers to a halt.

This is one of the stupidest things I ever heard. The emotional appeal is easy to understand, but from a technical standpoint it just doesn't work.

1. By making requests of the spammer's server, they think you successfully received the spam. You may have just allowed them to confirm that your address is valid. Your spam protection software might have caught the initial offending message. Once your verified address is sold to other spammers, who's email might land in your inbox.

2. Any bandwidth you generate against the spammer's account is traversing your service provider's networks. Your request is impacting your own provider's as much as it is the spammers. If you both pay the same amount for traffic, you'll both get dinged the same amount.

3. Bandwidth is cheap now anyways.

4. If you did create enough traffic to significantly burden their server, it would arguably be a denial of service attack. You may have just committed an illegal act.

5. In case your spam buster program caught a legitimate newsletter, any "attack" would be directed at an innocent third-party.

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