Now we know why so many anti-spammers dislike direct marketing. They’re branders at heart.
Or so it would seem by the looks of a new anti-spam blacklisting site.
Apews.org, or Anonymous Postmasters Early Warning System, mysteriously appeared recently in an effort to take up where the seemingly defunct blacklisting site, Spews, or Spam Early Warning System, left off.
The new site is clearly aiming to capitalize on the brand Spews built up over the years by looking almost identical to the old site.
Anti-spam blacklists, the most prominent of which being Spamhaus.org, maintain lists of IP addresses and domains believed to be sources of spam that e-mail administrators can use to determine whether or not to block incoming e-mail.
Though all e-mail blacklists are somewhat controversial, Spews was especially so because it was run anonymously and the only way to contact its operators was to post messages on anti-spam discussion group Nanae.
According to sources, Spews began to show signs in August that it was not being updated and the site is now believed to be defunct.
Like Spews, Apews will be run anonymously. There will, however, be some significant differences, according to a post on Nanae from someone claiming to represent the new blacklist.
“While it seems Spews was a one man show, Apews will be maintained by many operators,” said the post. “Apews will invite people we think we must have onboard to join the operator team.”
The effort was launched on Dec. 28. It went live last week, according to copy on the site.
