I've seen some pretty bizarre spams in my day, but this one takes the cake.
Today I got an email entitled "Vote No or Yes for Spam", and this is what it said:
Vote Yes or No for SPAM!
The hottest issue on the Internet is unsolicited email, affectionately
referred to as SPAM. I've heard it said that stopping spam would be an
infringement on one's right to free speech as well as freedom of the press.
People on the other side state that unsolicited email is an invasion of
privacy and should be illegal as technically they are paying the cost to get
it (via ISP hourly charges) every time they log into their email.
Which side are you on?
Most of you are aware of the battle in the courts involving this issue. It is
our intention for this survey to have an impact on those decisions. The
results of this survey will be published in national publications and
submitted to the major ISP's and various government agencies.
By taking part in this survey you will be helping to decide what outcome the
law will have on this issue and help to offset the cost of publishing these
results. To participate, call 1-900-****-***W or (900-***-****) and after the
very short message, select "1" on your phone for "NO" or "2" for "YES".
Let your opinion be known!
VOTE- VOTE- VOTE- VOTE- VOTE- VOTE- VOTE- VOTE
You will be charged $1.99 for your call (which will help off set the cost of
publishing the results) and YOU MUST BE at least 18 years old to participate.
Please vote only once so poll results will not be skewed.
OK, lemme get this straight - to vote whether or not spam is OK, I have
to ring an 1-900 number in the US and get charged $US1.99. GET REAL!
I've seen some transparent ploys in my time, but this one takes the cake.