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{{Short description|Facetious conspiracy theory popularized on USENET}} |
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The '''Lumber Cartel''' was a [[conspiracy theory]], first promulgated by [[spammer]] [[Duane Patterson]]<ref>{{cite web| url=http://groups.google.com/group/news.admin.net-abuse.email/msg/d8c8560e01b37135?hl=en&| work=news.admin.net-abuse.email| title=Possible Anti-Spam Conspiracy Uncovered| first=Gary| last=Frazier| year=Nov 14 1997| publisher=Google Groups| accessdate=2006-07-11}}</ref> and subsequently popularized on [[USENET]], that was alleged to back [[anti-spam]]mers. |
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{{distinguish|Timber mafia}} |
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The '''Lumber Cartel''' was a facetious [[conspiracy theory]] popularized on [[USENET]] that claimed [[anti-spam]]mers were secretly paid agents of lumber companies.<ref name="Goodman">{{cite book |
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|url=https://archive.org/details/spamwars00dann |
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|url-access=registration |
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|page=[https://archive.org/details/spamwars00dann/page/109 109] |
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|quote=lumber.cartel spam. |
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|title=Spam Wars: Our Last Best Chance to Defeat Spammers, Scammers, and Hackers |
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|author=Danny Goodman |
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|author-link=Danny Goodman |
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|year=2004 |
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|publisher=SelectBooks |
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|isbn=1-59079-063-4}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | {{cquote|The original anti-spammer was in truth a major spammer just one day before two major lumber companies deposited a total of $275,000 into his account. He instantly stopped spamming and began what is now the biggest anti-spam ring on the Internet.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://groups.google.com/group/news.admin.net-abuse.email/msg/387e586f6dd859ca| |
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| ⚫ | {{cquote|The original anti-spammer was in truth a major spammer just one day before two major lumber companies deposited a total of $275,000 into his account. He instantly stopped spamming and began what is now the biggest anti-spam ring on the Internet.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://groups.google.com/group/news.admin.net-abuse.email/msg/387e586f6dd859ca| date=Nov 14, 1997| title=Possible Anti-Spam Conspiracy Uncovered| author=Vladimir| accessdate=2006-07-11| publisher=Google Groups| work= news.admin.net-abuse.email}}</ref>}} |
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| ⚫ | The reasoning provided in the essay was that |
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| ⚫ | The reasoning provided in the essay was that certain companies first destroy forests and make [[paper]] out of them, which is in turn used to send [[bulk mail]]. Since sending [[e-mail spam]] does not use paper at all, the essay argued, the lumber companies would want to stop it before it would surpass paper-based bulk mailing, and consequently only those in the pay of the lumber companies would be anti-spam. |
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Anti-spammers were quick to point out that this reasoning is far from the truth. There are many reasons why e-mail spam was, and continues to be, a threat to the Internet, and why people continue to fight spam either in their spare time or professionally. In addition, in recent decades only [[newsprint]] [[paper]] (which is used to print [[newspapers]]) is being made out of [[pulpwood]] (which is, also, very far from [[lumber]]), other fine papers (like the kind used to print glossy advertisements and brochures) are made out of cotton rags. It is thus unlikely that the any lumber or tree-harvesting industry would benefit from any change from junk mailing. Furthermore, lumber companies themselves have little to do with paper companies, and bulk mail constitutes only a small part of total paper use. |
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The rationale was based in [[disclaimer]]s in certain spam messages that they were using electronic means in order to save paper. The joke eventually led to a club and numerous [[parody]] websites, most of which have long since disappeared.<ref>{{cite book |
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| ⚫ | Gatherings of anti-spammers on Usenet began to ridicule proponents of this theory, and many participants in [[news.admin.net-abuse.email]] chose to dub themselves as members of "the Lumber Cartel" in their [[signature block|signature]]s, followed immediately by the acronymic disclaimer " |
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|url=https://archive.org/details/spamkingsrealsto00mcwi |
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|url-access=registration |
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|page=[https://archive.org/details/spamkingsrealsto00mcwi/page/35 35] |
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|quote=lumber.cartel spam. |
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|title=Spam Kings: The Real Story behind the High-Rolling Hucksters Pushing Porn, Pills, and %*@)# Enlargements |
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|author=Brian S. McWilliams |
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|year=2005 |
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|publisher=[[O'Reilly Media]] |
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|isbn=0-596-00732-9}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | Gatherings of anti-spammers on Usenet began to ridicule proponents of this theory, and many participants in [[news.admin.net-abuse.email]] chose to dub themselves as members of "the Lumber Cartel" in their [[signature block|signature]]s, followed immediately by the acronymic disclaimer "TinLC" (There is no Lumber Cartel), reminiscent of the [[There Is No Cabal]] catchphrase.<ref name="Goodman"/> People were able to register with a website about the '''Lumber Cartel''' and were given a sequential membership number. That was added to email sig files in [[news.admin.net-abuse.email]] and used on personal websites. There was no verification or requirement to receive the membership number. |
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==See also== |
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*[[Culture jamming]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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<references/> |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*[http://groups.google.com/groups?as_q=&num=100&scoring=r&hl=en&as_epq=lumber+cartel&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_ugroup=news.admin.net-abuse.*&as_usubject=&as_uauthors=&lr=&as_drrb=q&as_qdr=&as_mind=1&as_minm=1&as_miny=1981&as_maxd=8&as_maxm=7&as_maxy=2006&safe=off Usenet Archives] |
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* "[http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=01bcf109%24b1fbcc40%241f81b6c3%40dial-slip2.mx.urupinsk.org Possible Anti-Spam Conspiracy Uncovered]" ([http://groups.google.com/group/news.admin.net-abuse.email/msg/387e586f6dd859ca alternate link]) - article posted by "Vladimir" to news.admin.net-abuse.email on 1997-11-14 |
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* Web site of "The Lumber Cartel"; [http://web.archive.org/web/20010720165710/http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lakes/5362/ Archived copy from 2001] available through The Internet Archive. |
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*[http://www.lumbercartel.co.uk/ The United Kingdom Lumber Cartel in Craggy Island]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} |
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*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110707044711/http://www.lumbercartel.cn/ The ZhongGuo (China) Lumber Cartel, local 88] |
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* The [[Jargon File]]: "[http://catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/L/Lumber-Cartel.html Lumber Cartel]" |
* The [[Jargon File]]: "[http://catb.org/~esr/jargon/html/L/Lumber-Cartel.html Lumber Cartel]" |
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*[[Ursine:Lumber Cartel|Lumber Cartel]] in [[Ursine:Main Page|Ursine]]'s [[Ursine:Jargon|Jargon Wiki]] |
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*[ |
*[https://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,35776,00.html Other Ways to Fry Spam] at [[Wired magazine|Wired]] |
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*[http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,35776,00.html Other Ways to Fry Spam] at [[Wired]] |
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*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080213073537/http://www.lumbercartel.org/ The Lumber Cartel's DNS-based blackhole list] |
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*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070607220605/http://bobcathoh.50megs.com/tinLC/ The Lumber Cartel's "Offishul" page.] |
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*[http://zgp.org/pipermail/linux-elitists/2005-October/011316.html Archives of a mailing list from 2005, mentioning the Lumber Cartel] |
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*[http://lists.contesting.com/_yaesu/1998-12/msg00012.html Archives of a mailing list from 1998, mentioning the Lumber Cartel] |
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*[http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/1999/11/12/spam/index2.html Salon.com's 1999 article on anti-spam efforts, mentioning the Lumber Cartel] |
*[http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/1999/11/12/spam/index2.html Salon.com's 1999 article on anti-spam efforts, mentioning the Lumber Cartel] |
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===Web sites dedicated to the Lumber Cartel=== |
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* [http://lumbercartel.freeyellow.com/ The Lumber Cartel, Roosevelt National Forest Chapter] ([http://web.archive.org/web/20040304111832/http://lumbercartel.freeyellow.com/ backup copy]) |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Email]] |
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[[Category:Spamming]] |
[[Category:Spamming]] |
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[[Category:Usenet]] |
[[Category:Usenet]] |
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[[Category: |
[[Category:Internet hoaxes]] |
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[[Category:Conspiracy theories]] |
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[[Category:Internet memes introduced in the 1990s]] |
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Latest revision as of 17:45, 7 October 2024
The Lumber Cartel was a facetious conspiracy theory popularized on USENET that claimed anti-spammers were secretly paid agents of lumber companies.[1]
In November 1997, a participant on news.admin.net-abuse.email posted an essay to the newsgroup. The essay described a conspiracy theory:
The original anti-spammer was in truth a major spammer just one day before two major lumber companies deposited a total of $275,000 into his account. He instantly stopped spamming and began what is now the biggest anti-spam ring on the Internet.[2]
The reasoning provided in the essay was that certain companies first destroy forests and make paper out of them, which is in turn used to send bulk mail. Since sending e-mail spam does not use paper at all, the essay argued, the lumber companies would want to stop it before it would surpass paper-based bulk mailing, and consequently only those in the pay of the lumber companies would be anti-spam.
The rationale was based in disclaimers in certain spam messages that they were using electronic means in order to save paper. The joke eventually led to a club and numerous parody websites, most of which have long since disappeared.[3]
Gatherings of anti-spammers on Usenet began to ridicule proponents of this theory, and many participants in news.admin.net-abuse.email chose to dub themselves as members of "the Lumber Cartel" in their signatures, followed immediately by the acronymic disclaimer "TinLC" (There is no Lumber Cartel), reminiscent of the There Is No Cabal catchphrase.[1] People were able to register with a website about the Lumber Cartel and were given a sequential membership number. That was added to email sig files in news.admin.net-abuse.email and used on personal websites. There was no verification or requirement to receive the membership number.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Danny Goodman (2004). Spam Wars: Our Last Best Chance to Defeat Spammers, Scammers, and Hackers. SelectBooks. p. 109. ISBN 1-59079-063-4.
lumber.cartel spam.
- ^ Vladimir (Nov 14, 1997). "Possible Anti-Spam Conspiracy Uncovered". news.admin.net-abuse.email. Google Groups. Retrieved 2006-07-11.
- ^ Brian S. McWilliams (2005). Spam Kings: The Real Story behind the High-Rolling Hucksters Pushing Porn, Pills, and %*@)# Enlargements. O'Reilly Media. p. 35. ISBN 0-596-00732-9.
lumber.cartel spam.
External links
[edit]- How the Lumber Cartel started
- The Canadian Branch of the Lumber Cartel (local 42)
- The Netherlands Lumber Cartel
- The United Kingdom Lumber Cartel in Craggy Island[permanent dead link]
- The ZhongGuo (China) Lumber Cartel, local 88
- The Jargon File: "Lumber Cartel"
- Glossary at the Abusive Hosts Blocklist
- Other Ways to Fry Spam at Wired
- Gambling Magazine's 1999 article on spam, mentioning the Lumber Cartel
- The Lumber Cartel's DNS-based blackhole list
- The Lumber Cartel's "Offishul" page.
- Salon.com's 1999 article on anti-spam efforts, mentioning the Lumber Cartel