it seems that kottu cocoon has decided that biggest problem facing sri lanka is sms spam (mobile phone texting spam). not just any sms spam, but 1 sms new year wish by president mahinda rajapaksa.
this lack of proportion is understandable. after all in the fantasy world of the cloud entombed cocoon where these bloggers insist on living, even a sms (at best a bit of earthly reality at third hand) has more substance than everything else.
as usual they are incoherent in their objections. so here are some questions and answers to clarify things.
are unsolicited texting spam annoying?
certainly. though perhaps less so if they appear as a mere wish, and not a solicitation.
does the receiving party pay for the sms?
not in sri lanka.
is it new?
no. objecting bloggers would have some credibility if same bloggers (almost to a man pro terrorist appeasement/peacenik bloggers) were not silent about all the other spam we got during the years. esp political spam from certain politicians then in united national party and active in appeasement 'peace' talks.
is it illegal?
no.
it is legal to send a sms new year wish.
and it is legal to send political msgs, both text and voice. they are part of political campaigns in other countries, esp in the west.
is this a violation of right to privacy?
depends on what you mean by privacy. probably not
your phone number was used. if you think that is a violation, yes
is there an unsubscribe option?
no. it would be useful to have an unsubscribe option or a more general blocking option. we can then block specific source of messages. it is up to phone companies to provide that.
how much did it cost?
if they were sent to everyone with mobile phone in sl, they must have cost between 10-20 million rupees (however it is clear that some have not received, with few annoyed at not receiving). compared to money spent on other media, that amount is small.
who paid for them?
phone companies ( if they were sent for free ) , or government, or campaign of mahinda rajapaksa.
is such payment legal?
probably. depends.
phone companies are probably doing nothing illegal if they were carrying new year wishes of president.
they also have a right to be partisan, if they want.
legality is most uncertain if government paid for it. while it is a mere new year wish, there is no doubt that, mahinda buffalo is blurring the line between his office and his candidacy to his advantage. if not in this instance, in others. however every sri lankan election was conducted in the same manner by those in power. is that good? no. but it would be impossible to prosecute anyone due to technicalities. nor is this problem (use of benefits of office to conduct partisan politics) confined to sri lanka.
a question about legality of payment would/should not arise if campaign paid for it.
is any of this a big national issue?
no.
should it be?
no.
will it change election results?
no.
as i said before, mahinda rajapaksa is going to win by a big margin anyway. even if any sustained sms campaign (not just 1 new year wish) was launched i don't expect we will be able to notice anything.
some after publication changes to this post made before 5.40pm 1/2/2010.
this blog's twitter - http://twitter.com/llibertarian
this lack of proportion is understandable. after all in the fantasy world of the cloud entombed cocoon where these bloggers insist on living, even a sms (at best a bit of earthly reality at third hand) has more substance than everything else.
as usual they are incoherent in their objections. so here are some questions and answers to clarify things.
are unsolicited texting spam annoying?
certainly. though perhaps less so if they appear as a mere wish, and not a solicitation.
does the receiving party pay for the sms?
not in sri lanka.
is it new?
no. objecting bloggers would have some credibility if same bloggers (almost to a man pro terrorist appeasement/peacenik bloggers) were not silent about all the other spam we got during the years. esp political spam from certain politicians then in united national party and active in appeasement 'peace' talks.
is it illegal?
no.
it is legal to send a sms new year wish.
and it is legal to send political msgs, both text and voice. they are part of political campaigns in other countries, esp in the west.
is this a violation of right to privacy?
depends on what you mean by privacy. probably not
your phone number was used. if you think that is a violation, yes
is there an unsubscribe option?
no. it would be useful to have an unsubscribe option or a more general blocking option. we can then block specific source of messages. it is up to phone companies to provide that.
how much did it cost?
if they were sent to everyone with mobile phone in sl, they must have cost between 10-20 million rupees (however it is clear that some have not received, with few annoyed at not receiving). compared to money spent on other media, that amount is small.
who paid for them?
phone companies ( if they were sent for free ) , or government, or campaign of mahinda rajapaksa.
is such payment legal?
probably. depends.
phone companies are probably doing nothing illegal if they were carrying new year wishes of president.
they also have a right to be partisan, if they want.
legality is most uncertain if government paid for it. while it is a mere new year wish, there is no doubt that, mahinda buffalo is blurring the line between his office and his candidacy to his advantage. if not in this instance, in others. however every sri lankan election was conducted in the same manner by those in power. is that good? no. but it would be impossible to prosecute anyone due to technicalities. nor is this problem (use of benefits of office to conduct partisan politics) confined to sri lanka.
a question about legality of payment would/should not arise if campaign paid for it.
is any of this a big national issue?
no.
should it be?
no.
will it change election results?
no.
as i said before, mahinda rajapaksa is going to win by a big margin anyway. even if any sustained sms campaign (not just 1 new year wish) was launched i don't expect we will be able to notice anything.
some after publication changes to this post made before 5.40pm 1/2/2010.
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my twitter - http://twitter.com/sittingnutthis blog's twitter - http://twitter.com/llibertarian
