A lot of us Web people do it. We know we need an obvious feature, so we implement something quickly, but it only gets us halfway there. Maybe we realize it’s not a complete feature, maybe we don’t. Regardless, we leave it half done.
It’s pretty easy to pick on MySpace, so I’ll praise them first. For a service of immense popularity, it is bound to be a favorite place for spammers. They have become very good at finding these bad guys and wiping them out almost instantly. MySpace doesn’t even send me a real email to tell me about this MySpace email. Pretty cool.
So, how do I know they are catching so many spammers?
For each message from a deleted spammer, I get an extra message in my box, cleansed of its spammy contents. Instead, each message explains…
The profile you received this message from has been deleted. Either this user deleted their own profile or MySpace deleted it for spamming and/or content violations.
To remove this message click the delete button below.
Thank you.
P.S. If you’re seeing a lot of old messages in your inbox like this, it’s because someone you know who has written you messages has been deleted. If the messages are new, it’s probably a spammer that MySpace caught in the act.
It’s like a mouse that the cat brings to the doorstep. “See what I did!”
This is a halfway there approach. Catching spammers is important to MySpace, so they don’t clutter my inbox. Yet, they clutter my inbox with their trophies.
A few ways to make this all the way there:
- Delete the messages, too
- Create a spam folder and move them there
- Keep a McDonald’s-like tally: over one billion spammers foiled
Whatever they do, they should go the whole way. Halfway isn’t far enough.
Hmm, one of the many reasons I don’t use myspace! jk, i like your ideas though.
I probably wouldn’t use it, either, except there are people who I only communicate with there. The upside is I get to learn what works (little) and what doesn’t (lots).