Thanks for this info Irene.
Given your recent ordeal with this issue, I can appreciate your sensitivity,
But you are correct. When this list was begun we did not have the consciousness
regarding spying and it nefarious uses.
t
From: Irene de Villiers
Sent: Monday, December 23, 2013 1:43 AM
To:
minutus@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Minutus] Sharing a case
Gisela,
I had an email crash recent.y which made me look at the website for the list emails for the firsttimel I wqas horrified to see Minutus lisyted as a public list with no memebrship needed to oaccess all posts.
Therefore - For most people, presenting a case would be financial and possiblky career suicide.
As this list is a public list, you do not need to subscribe to read it., So any skeptic can read it without subscription BUT so can any activist looking for homeopaths to prosecute without cause - AND so can automated bots.
Being public also alows "bots" to parse the list emails and gather personal and other information to sell about list members - to sex offenders, pedophiles, thieves and whoever else wants it, including prosecutors trying to get rid of homeopaths - which we all know is a worldwide activity with a lot of money behind it.
A bot is a program that reads all the emails automatically, looking for key words and automatically stores the information in a searchable database to sell or use.
Typical keywords are:
usually - so they can see what you uisually do/when/etc and know when to burgle/pedophile activity/etc
vacation - same idea
child - to see where a child is vulnerabe to attack by pedophile (pedophiles pay big bucks for this bot info)
red/blue/etc - to know what color car/clothes etc - to sell to clothing/shoe/car sellers for spam
success - to know when you are claiming a "cure" or prescription or other restricted-to-licenced activity
(They do not care that you say success and not cure - or that you recommned and not prescribe - THEY get to interpret what you mean )
The list of trigger words for bots can be as long as they like
Public lists can be parsed easily bu bots - not subscribed ones.
WHY this list is public beats me, It should REQUIRE subscription to read. BUt that is an owner decision however unwisely that decision has been made.
I suggest nobody share a case here unless the owner at least makes Minutus subscription only. Too easy to get a bot to parse emails to find words that trigger putting homeopaths out of business with zero effort on their part and disaster for the homeopath - that does NOT promote homeopathy.
I do not know who owns this list but I sure would advise them to take it out of the public domain. People who want to read it then still can read it - but must be recorded members first, and no malicious bots can then use it without anyone knowing.
Namaste,
Irene
REPLY TO: only
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Irene de Villiers, B.Sc AASCA MCSSA D.I.Hom/D.Vet.Hom.
P.O. Box 4703 Spokane WA 99220.
www.angelfire.com/fl/furryboots/clickhere.html (Veterinary Homeopath.)
"Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt one doing it."
