Recent spam in the inbox included two instances originating from MonsterHut, a spamhaus. My definition of a spamhaus is "any company that sells email marketing services which has also sent me an email". Well, that's more of a sufficient condition than a definition as such, but you get the idea. Naturally I blacklisted every IP address associated with MonsterHut and complained to their upstream ISP. I've offered to remove the block if the upstream ISP terminates MonsterHut's service, or if MonsterHut themselves pay me US$200 (being US$100 per email) in processing fees.

Subsequently, I received an automated response from the ISP, but one which isn't the usual boilerplate for that sort of thing. The response in question provides information about litigation which is currently taking place between MonsterHut and the ISP, including reference to the fact that MonsterHut has a temporary restraining order preventing the ISP from terminating the service. They have a website dedicated to the case.

I'm intending to send them an affidavit testifying that I was spammed. It will be my first affidavit, and my first concrete legal action against a spammer. I hope they sue MonsterHut for massive damages, leaving it as just another casualty of the dot-com bust. An uncharitable attitude, to be sure, but I feel it's my civic duty to raise the cost of spamming for the Common Good.