[quote author=Bionic-Badger link=1204788577/840#852 date=1218276873]It's almost sad that I have to explain this, and sorry for the hijacking. There are bots scouring the net all the time for email addresses, just as they randomly probe sites for known software exploits. Forums are an easy target because their regular structure and people are less cautious about what they post. Why do you think people put "name AT site DOT com" when required to put their email addresses in public view? Or why Google will not even allow you to search for something like "*@paypal.com" laser pointer forum? Or why our email addresses are hidden at all on this forum? I once made the mistake of sending a question to a support group of some software, whereby it was posted on a mailing list they they had a copy of on the internet. Boy did that increase the amount of spam I received, and that was some pretty obscure software. The volume of spam I receive is very little compared to that of others I know, mainly because I try my best to ensure that my email address is not displayed plainly in public form, and it works.
But thank you, Senkat for taking the high road in this. As has been demonstrated countless times before, you deliver your insights with the kind of maturity and eloquence that serves only to improve the quality of a dialog. I do, however, find it surprising that, for someone who takes every opportunity he can to impart his -- usually unsolicited -- "wisdom" to others on caution, that you have no problem trusting in the security of private information made publically available on the internet. There's a word describing that kind of misplaced trust: naïveté.
What I hope this doesn't result in is -- yet another -- pedantic, self-serving, "take it for what it's worth" nugget of common sense, interjected into some random forum thread. They seem to stem from a pattern of naïve judgements, with their advice offering little value in their obviousness. Such life-lessons, as well as those involving tact and social maturity, are usually learned at a young age, but some people seem free from their influence until later in life, if not until death. I just hope the younger readers here only "do as you say, not as you do."
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