Calling all genuises to prevent spam e-mail

By Tina Ray
Opinion Editor

This campus is brimming with bright people. Could someone please invent the appropriate software to annihilate spam and pop-ups?

Every time I check my e-mail, I “report spam,” but to no avail. The very next day, I’ll get the same e-mail with a different name as the reference handle.

It’s so frustrating. Of course, I’m not interested in Vioxx or Valium or getting prescription drugs cheaper by the quantity.

Lately, senders have begun to mimic the language of my friends. Sometimes, I can’t differentiate between someone sending spam and a message from a friend. In which case, I delete it because I figure if it’s a true friend, he or she will understand and either verbally communicate the message or resend it.

Computers have greatly impacted my life. Instant messaging and e-mail have shrunk the globe.

I don’t have to browse through a card catalog at the local library to do research. I simply go to Google or AOL Keyword, type a word or phrase and wait for the web page directory to appear. It’s almost too simple.

But, when I’m in the middle of online research or im’ing my sister-in-law, I really don’t care for pop-ups to appear.

God forbid if I’m trying to write something that requires absolutely no interference from the outside world. Pop-ups could push me into a world of frenzy or worse, writer’s block.

I block pop-ups. They still appear. I “report spam.” It reappears. While I’m on the subject, may I add, spam is a great name for unsolicited information: I don’t like the meat and well, you know the rest.

Bear in mind, I’ve typed this document on a PC. So, what does that tell you?

Would one of you Mensa geniuses who is reading this, or someone with a good helping of common sense, please invent a program that wipes pop-ups and spam off the map?