I spy a goose!!

I wonder what the original thread said.

It was another attempt to market some crap (which geese are good at generating in large quantities). Those and blatantly illegal stuff like drugs sales tend to get edited in this manner (daftfader and Dr B also replace them with random stuff). Spam posts which have more potential comedy value (like the orgasm guide from Pakistan) tend to get left as they are…

Would be curious to see what they make of it in foreign lands (I’ve seen the most strange stuff quoted from here including a trip report relayed to a Swedish drugs forum).

Though I expect we’d all prefer it if folk from outside the “West” chatted about their nights out and other stuff without trying to sell us things. Especially as in the countries where half this spam comes from, being able to learn English and have access to a site with “Western free speech” is a privelige/luxury for many…

I know cultures are different and in some nations there is a lot more emphasis placed on “free markets” and “entrepreneurial culture” but that doesn’t mean every social interaction should be treated as a business opportunity – here in Europe where most of us are from this isn’t very polite..

@MC G-Tek 522979 wrote:

Very true mate, but I would think that a fair percentage of these people will become quite successful as a result of this relentless approach to business – and I would imagine that around the time of the Industrial Revolution, there were many people all over Europe who were doing the same. Just human nature when you first get introduced to seemingly endless possibilities I guess, but as you say, a few centuries on, we find it kind of intrusive when it’s done all the time.

Coincidentally I was looking at random old signs last night and there was loads (from a couple of centuries ago) warning street vendors and pedlars not to harrass people in railway stations and restricting their access to certain parts of the station so its been a problem for a while. The issue isn’t so much that they have things to sell but doing this in the right place, and often what is being sold is fake / poor quality / illegal.

In the richer Asian countries like Malaysia and Singapore they are trying to put a stop to this spam at source and the way they do this (surveillance and people getting their halls of residence/houses visited by Police and Communications Ministry officers isn’t always pleasant.)

It’s peanut butter jelly time..