Re: Anonymous email users

On Fri, 14 Jun 2024 18:00:37 -0400, avi.e.gross wrote:

I notice that in some recent discussions, we have users who cannot be
replied to directly as their email addresses are not valid ones, and I
believe on purpose. Examples in the thread I was going to reply to are:
 
 <mailto:HenHanna@devnull.tb> HenHanna@devnull.tb
 
 <mailto:no.email@nospam.invalid> no.email@nospam.invalid
 
 <mailto:candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid>
candycanearter07@candycanearter07.nomail.afraid (user <candycane> is
generated from /dev/urandom)
 
I know some here suggest that we only reply to the wider community and
they have a point. But I think there is a role for having some
conversations offline and especially when they are not likely to be
wanted, or even tolerated, by many in the community.
 
Using such fake or invalid emails makes it hard to answer the person
directly or perhaps politely ask them for more info on their request or
discuss unrelated common interests. Worse, when I reply, unless I use
reply-all, my mailer sends to them futilely. When I do the reply-all, I
have to edit out their name or get a rejection.
 

The spammers won the spam wars, so even if you have someone's real
e-mail address, that's no guarantee that you can contact them. You
certainly wouldn't be able to contact me at my real e-mail address,
unless you also had my phone number, so you could call me and tell
me that you sent me an e-mail, and what the subject line was so I
can find it. I don't even open my e-mail inbox unless there's a
specific message I'm expecting to find there right now.

With e-mail addresses being phone-validated, it's not easy to create
a new one either. And even if I did, you can't even trust e-mail
providers not to give your address out to spammers.

The only function e-mail addresses serve now is to positively identify
the sender of a Usenet posting so he can be targeted for harassment,
lawsuits, or worse.