This landed in my mailbox today. I don't like spam. I really don't like spam from hosting companies, because it makes the rest of us look bad.

This one is particularly bad. Personally, it is outside the realm I refer to as "ethical business practices".

Read On:

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Hello,

I stumbled upon (my domain deleted) today and it appears that you are
hosted by XO Communications. Due to XO's current financial situation,
you might have been thinking about finding a new Internet web hosting
provider. If so, you may be interested in Alden Hosting's special
promotion for new customers.

Alden Hosting, http://www.AldenHosting.com, located in the metropolitan
New York City area, is a provider of business-class Web hosting to
small and medium-sized businesses, providing professional, efficient,
and reliable services. We provide everything you need to continue your
Internet business. So what does all of this mean to you? We will help
you transfer your existing site to our servers for FREE. This special
offer not only includes assistance in moving your site, but we will
also switch your Domain Naming Services (DNS) and help you set up your
Email accounts. We make it easy and affordable.

Alden Hosting's feature-rich hosting plans and excellent toll-free
customer support empower you to efficiently build a Web business that
will grow with your changing needs. Therefore, all our web hosting
plans includes a 30-day money back guarantee.

Our web hosting plans start for as little as $9.95 per month, featuring
one month free if you pre-pay for 12 months. Take a look at our
hosting plans at http://www.aldenhosting.com/plans_overview.shtml to
find the plan that is right for your business. Need help making the
right choice? Email or call me today so I can get you transferred over
without having any down-time or lost business. Let's face it, nobody
can afford losing business!

If you are interested in hosting with us, or if I can answer any
additional questions for you, please feel free to contact me. You can
reach me in the office Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. until 6
p.m. (Eastern Daylight Savings Time) toll free at (877)256-0328.

See below for current press releases regarding XO Communications:
"XO Communications Stock is Currently at 4 Cents" (June 12, 2002)
http://qs.money.cnn.com/tq/stockquote?symbols=xoxo
"SEC Probes XO Communications" (June 11, 2002)
http://money.cnn.com/2002/06/11/technology/xo.reut/
"XO Faces Emergency Without Restructure Plan" (May 20, 2002)
http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/020520/telecoms_xo_1.html

Good luck with your online business decisions.

Dennis
Alden Hosting LLC
http://www.AldenHosting.com
mailto:XO_Customers@AldenHosting.com
Toll Free: (877) 256-0328
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Oh, and the kicker? The domain in the email isn't even hosted in XO, as a simple 'whois' would have shown, had this been the legitimate, personal, direct, non-spam email it claims to be.

(For those that have read this message earlier, the only thing I changed when editing this file was the title of the thread)

Maybe they're trying to fool people into thinking that their provider is a reseller of XO Communications?

The bottom line:

:flamethr: :spam:

:beer:

I received 2 of these today and called the guy up. He answered!

Here's his story:

He obtained his list by querying 9NetAve/Concentric/XO's servers. Problem is, they haven't cleaned house in years. The 2 domains that got spammed today were at one time (back in 1998!) signed up with 9NetAve - for 3 weeks. Looks like they never removed the DNS listings or account info... so this guy claims.

I expressed my indignation that he would spam my clients and make them question the status of their hosting. He thinks he was doing the world a favor by exposing XO's financial situation to the masses of clueless customers they have. Of course, should they sign on with Alden, so much the better. What a load of sh*t! I politely informed him that perhaps he should have checked his list against reality first. he did say mine was not the first complaint of the type. I hope this blows up in his face - he deserves it for such a crappy scheme to pull. :angry:

.. hosting related spam is becoming epidemic :angry:

That makes sense, shpilkus.

Of course, even if he did truly have a list of only domains on the XO network, sending out unsolicited mass mail to their customers saying, "Hey, I dug up some dirt to smear your host. Why don't you come host with me, instead?", it's still a low-down, dirty, rotten stunt.

It might pad the bottom line, but if my business is doing so poorly that I have to resort to such tactics to stay afloat, it's time for me to get out of the game.