When this thread first started, I was going to suggest that people were jumping to conclusions about this address, but now I'm not so sure. When I first checked, the address was subscribed to only one of the 15 lists that I manage (he subscribed to that one back in April). Then the address subscribed to two more of my lists yesterday, including one that has only one other subscriber besides me. So this does make me start to wonder... -- Mary On 7/13/2013 4:14 PM, Clan Scott List Administrator wrote: > Has Tyron Alcon posted any legitimate genealogy message to any > Rootsweb list? He has not posted (yet) to any of my lists. > > It is possible he is legit but he has subscribed to all but two of my > lists now and subscribed to another today. Oddly, one of the lists > he is not a subscriber is a large list and the one I've had the > longest. From what others have said, I'm wondering if he's trying to > join all the surname lists. So far, he has not unsubscribed from any > list I administer. > > [snip]

unfortunately, not easy - only one hit. on Dunwell list. That's it. David On 7/13/2013 3:11 PM, JYoung6180@aol.com wrote: > If he was doing this it would be easily found in a Google > search. > > Joan

On 13 Jul 2013 Clan Scott List Administrator wrote: <snipped> > It is possible that Tyron Alcon is joining all or most of Rootsweb > lists and plans to flood Rootsweb with spam or other inappropriate > messages. Thankfully, there is a limit to number of email addresses > in the header of a message for any Rootsweb posting. (Set up in the > past to minimize spamming.) But a smart spammer could find ways around that. If anything nefarious is planned then he/she's likely harvesting subscribers' e-mail addresses -- this can be easily automated using incoming list mail. These e-mail addresses could then be sold or used to spam individually or even used to spam the lists -- imagine spam from *every* active legitimate subscriber to almost every list at one time! Obviously moderating his/her address will accomplish nothing! Just waiting....... ! Cheers! -- Dave -- David Naylor, Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada. ---

YES! He is on all 3 of my USA county lists. Put him on moderation as well as precaution. He is also on Birch, Fitgerald, Main and Nault family lists, not Burch and Aldrich. Something telling me something afoot. David Samuelsen On 7/13/2013 2:14 PM, Clan Scott List Administrator wrote: > I wonder if he's also signing up for other lists (location, etc.).

This is the email that I sent to him. mailto:tyronealcon@gmail.com Hi there I am admin to the mailing lists that I have sub to, can I help you please? Thanks very much for answering this. Diane

I think you all should enjoy your summer and stop obsessing on this subscriber and his evil plots if they even exist. Can we please end this thread? Megan are you there? ;-O On Sat, Jul 13, 2013 at 4:11 PM, <JYoung6180@aol.com> wrote: > I can't see any mass spammer going through all this to just get addresses > or eventually at some future date spam all the lists he's subscribed to. I > have no idea why he is joining all these lists but as long as his mail > isn't > bouncing and he isn't posting inappropriately it really isn't any of our > business why he is subscribing to the lists. > > In all the years I've been around RootsWeb lists and that has been from the > very beginning the ONLY people I've ever seen who have subscribed to many > lists and not posted and had some "evil" plot that plot was to gather all > the list posts from every list and create an off-site archive which is > against RootsWeb rules and would be a violation of individual poster AND > RootsWeb Copyright. RootsWeb has gone after this type of abuser in the > past and > won...but so far I can't find any evidence that this is being done by THIS > mass subscriber. If he was doing this it would be easily found in a Google > search. > > Joan > > > In a message dated 7/13/2013 4:20:49 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, > listadmin@clanscottsociety.org writes: > > Has Tyron Alcon posted any legitimate genealogy message to any > Rootsweb list? He has not posted (yet) to any of my lists. > > It is possible he is legit but he has subscribed to all but two of my > lists now and subscribed to another today. Oddly, one of the lists > he is not a subscriber is a large list and the one I've had the > longest. From what others have said, I'm wondering if he's trying to > join all the surname lists. So far, he has not unsubscribed from any > list I administer. > > Based on the feedback I've gotten, it looks like he's subscribing > randomly to a eclectic combination of lists. It is possible he's > doing a lot of genealogy research for others and wanting to stay > current with new postings without searching the archives daily. But > there are other potential possibilities, too. > > I wonder if he's also signing up for other lists (location, etc.). > > Charani, you are mistaken about spammers not being able to post to a > Rootsweb list. It happens but the spammer must be a list subscriber > to post to the list. The most recent spam attack was the Yahoo > address book spam that used a Yahoo user's address book to send a > short message like, "Hey!" and a link to a non-domestic site that > tried to harvest the link-clicker's address book, etc. It took a > while for the Rootsweb gurus to stop at least two rounds of spam from > this malware. I've seen other spammers in the past. > > It is possible that Tyron Alcon is joining all or most of Rootsweb > lists and plans to flood Rootsweb with spam or other inappropriate > messages. Thankfully, there is a limit to number of email addresses > in the header of a message for any Rootsweb posting. (Set up in the > past to minimize spamming.) But a smart spammer could find ways around > that. > > While I don't think administrators should put their lists on > emergency moderation, I do suggest the General Option "Should > administrator get notices of subscribes and unsubscribes?" setting > should be "Yes" so that you are aware if Tyrone Alcon is requesting a > subscription to your list(s) or has left your list. I also recommend > setting his email address to moderation in the Membership Management > section to prevent inappropriate postings from him. > > Something still does not seem right with Tyrone Alcon. As I said > before, I'd rather err on the side of caution than have to deal with > a big, messy problem. > > David Scott > > At 06:59 PM 7/11/2013, Charani wrote: > >Clan Scott List Administrator wrote: > >>I may be over-reacting but I'd rather err on the side of caution: > >> > >>Over the last month I have had several subscriber requests from > >>tyronealcon@gmail.com (Tyrone Alcon) to unrelated and diverse surname > >>lists. They have occurred one at a time and rarely on the same > >>day. Unless this individual has a rather unusual family tree or is a > >>long-lost cousin, I doubt someone would have interest in the surname > >>lists he's been requesting subscription. > > > >It's possible he is legit. > > > >I have 30 names I'm seriously researching, but at least as many > >again I've a passing interest in. Some of the names are unusual or > >localised and/or single source. I'm also doing a One Place Study, > >so there are dozens of names I'm following up on. > > > >I will join lists because I have an interest in them but maybe not > >post at all perhaps because I've found the answer or because I've > >been distracted by something on another line of research. Some > >lists I'm subbed to I've forgotten about because they are so quiet. > > > >One of my list members believed she had to be subscribed to a list > >in order to search the archives so she was subbing to numerous lists > >just to do that - until I told her she didn't have to. It's > >possible he's doing that. > > > >>Perhaps I'm thinking the worst of people but after a couple of these > >>subscription requests, I put him on moderation. > > > >OK, suppose he IS a spammer. He's apparently aware he can't send > >spam to the lists. He may be aware steps have been taken to prevent > >addresses being harvested from the archives. IF he wants to gather > >addresses, there's only one other way to do it ;) Putting him on > >mod, wouldn't stop him if he really is a hunter-gatherer. > > > >I'm NOT saying this is what is actually happening, only that it's an > >unlikely possibility. Word is spammers don't join lists. > > > >-- > >Charani (UK) > >OPC for Walton, Ashcott, Shapwick, > >Greinton and Clutton, SOM > >http://wsom-opc.org.uk > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > LISTOWNERS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject > and the body of the message > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > LISTOWNERS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > -- ~~~~~ Take care, Kathie Harrison Lancaster Co., NEGenWeb http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nelancas/

Has Tyron Alcon posted any legitimate genealogy message to any Rootsweb list? He has not posted (yet) to any of my lists. It is possible he is legit but he has subscribed to all but two of my lists now and subscribed to another today. Oddly, one of the lists he is not a subscriber is a large list and the one I've had the longest. From what others have said, I'm wondering if he's trying to join all the surname lists. So far, he has not unsubscribed from any list I administer. Based on the feedback I've gotten, it looks like he's subscribing randomly to a eclectic combination of lists. It is possible he's doing a lot of genealogy research for others and wanting to stay current with new postings without searching the archives daily. But there are other potential possibilities, too. I wonder if he's also signing up for other lists (location, etc.). Charani, you are mistaken about spammers not being able to post to a Rootsweb list. It happens but the spammer must be a list subscriber to post to the list. The most recent spam attack was the Yahoo address book spam that used a Yahoo user's address book to send a short message like, "Hey!" and a link to a non-domestic site that tried to harvest the link-clicker's address book, etc. It took a while for the Rootsweb gurus to stop at least two rounds of spam from this malware. I've seen other spammers in the past. It is possible that Tyron Alcon is joining all or most of Rootsweb lists and plans to flood Rootsweb with spam or other inappropriate messages. Thankfully, there is a limit to number of email addresses in the header of a message for any Rootsweb posting. (Set up in the past to minimize spamming.) But a smart spammer could find ways around that. While I don't think administrators should put their lists on emergency moderation, I do suggest the General Option "Should administrator get notices of subscribes and unsubscribes?" setting should be "Yes" so that you are aware if Tyrone Alcon is requesting a subscription to your list(s) or has left your list. I also recommend setting his email address to moderation in the Membership Management section to prevent inappropriate postings from him. Something still does not seem right with Tyrone Alcon. As I said before, I'd rather err on the side of caution than have to deal with a big, messy problem. David Scott At 06:59 PM 7/11/2013, Charani wrote: >Clan Scott List Administrator wrote: >>I may be over-reacting but I'd rather err on the side of caution: >> >>Over the last month I have had several subscriber requests from >>tyronealcon@gmail.com (Tyrone Alcon) to unrelated and diverse surname >>lists. They have occurred one at a time and rarely on the same >>day. Unless this individual has a rather unusual family tree or is a >>long-lost cousin, I doubt someone would have interest in the surname >>lists he's been requesting subscription. > >It's possible he is legit. > >I have 30 names I'm seriously researching, but at least as many >again I've a passing interest in. Some of the names are unusual or >localised and/or single source. I'm also doing a One Place Study, >so there are dozens of names I'm following up on. > >I will join lists because I have an interest in them but maybe not >post at all perhaps because I've found the answer or because I've >been distracted by something on another line of research. Some >lists I'm subbed to I've forgotten about because they are so quiet. > >One of my list members believed she had to be subscribed to a list >in order to search the archives so she was subbing to numerous lists >just to do that - until I told her she didn't have to. It's >possible he's doing that. > >>Perhaps I'm thinking the worst of people but after a couple of these >>subscription requests, I put him on moderation. > >OK, suppose he IS a spammer. He's apparently aware he can't send >spam to the lists. He may be aware steps have been taken to prevent >addresses being harvested from the archives. IF he wants to gather >addresses, there's only one other way to do it ;) Putting him on >mod, wouldn't stop him if he really is a hunter-gatherer. > >I'm NOT saying this is what is actually happening, only that it's an >unlikely possibility. Word is spammers don't join lists. > >-- >Charani (UK) >OPC for Walton, Ashcott, Shapwick, >Greinton and Clutton, SOM >http://wsom-opc.org.uk

OK, I finally went & checked and he had subscribed to two of my "C" surname lists in early June, however I had automatically put him on Mod as the lists are inactive. For this guy, it might be worthwhile to have the helpdesk send out an alert to mod that addy. Janet On Sat, Jul 13, 2013 at 1:53 PM, Gerald Tobin <tobinger@frontiernet.net>wrote: > He just got to my list. > > Jerry > > > Tyrone Alcon <tyronealcon@gmail.com> has been successfully subscribed > to NYQUEENS. > >

Diane, Interesting. And what will you do when he doesn't reply? Or, for that matter if he DOES reply? Either way, as has been said here ad nauseum, he has done absolutely nothing wrong and there is no proper basis for any action against him. Do you really expect him to say "I am laying the groundwork for a massive attack on the lists," even if it was true? If it will make you feel better, moderate that address if it is on your lists until you can relieve your paranoia, then forget about it. David E. Cann decann@infionline.net -----Original Message----- From: listowners-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:listowners-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Diane MARGRIE-Sowden Sent: Saturday, July 13, 2013 11:25 AM To: List admins Subject: [LO] Suspect subscriber This is the email that I sent to him. mailto:tyronealcon@gmail.com Hi there I am admin to the mailing lists that I have sub to, can I help you please? Thanks very much for answering this. Diane

Why? He still has not broken any rootsweb rule. He is subed to over 200 of mine, I always put newbes on mod in case they need help writing their first couple of posts.

He just got to my list. Jerry > Tyrone Alcon <tyronealcon@gmail.com> has been successfully subscribed to NYQUEENS. On Jul 11, 2013, at 11:10 PM, Christina Hunt <chrisnina@gmail.com> wrote: > He is not just subscribing to Surname lists. I just checked a bunch of Irish > County list I manage and my Irish in Michigan list and found him subscribed. He > is now moderated. Thanks for pointing this out. > Most Irish list did have a big spam attack months ago by a guy advertising a > site with all kinds of links to Irish projects, but which is really full of > click and pay him links. I suspect this is along those lines again. That guy > used a fake name. His "site" covers the U.S. too. > Maybe he has added Surnames. Anything to push the advertising links. > Christina > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to LISTOWNERS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

He's been discussed here before, I'm sure. Have you checked the LO archives? He is subscribed to most (if not all, I haven't checked) of my lists, and has never posted. I always put new members on moderation anyway, until they post once or twice. Wendy

Clan Scott List Administrator wrote: > I may be over-reacting but I'd rather err on the side of caution: > > Over the last month I have had several subscriber requests from > tyronealcon@gmail.com (Tyrone Alcon) to unrelated and diverse surname > lists. They have occurred one at a time and rarely on the same > day. Unless this individual has a rather unusual family tree or is a > long-lost cousin, I doubt someone would have interest in the surname > lists he's been requesting subscription. It's possible he is legit. I have 30 names I'm seriously researching, but at least as many again I've a passing interest in. Some of the names are unusual or localised and/or single source. I'm also doing a One Place Study, so there are dozens of names I'm following up on. I will join lists because I have an interest in them but maybe not post at all perhaps because I've found the answer or because I've been distracted by something on another line of research. Some lists I'm subbed to I've forgotten about because they are so quiet. One of my list members believed she had to be subscribed to a list in order to search the archives so she was subbing to numerous lists just to do that - until I told her she didn't have to. It's possible he's doing that. > Perhaps I'm thinking the worst of people but after a couple of these > subscription requests, I put him on moderation. OK, suppose he IS a spammer. He's apparently aware he can't send spam to the lists. He may be aware steps have been taken to prevent addresses being harvested from the archives. IF he wants to gather addresses, there's only one other way to do it ;) Putting him on mod, wouldn't stop him if he really is a hunter-gatherer. I'm NOT saying this is what is actually happening, only that it's an unlikely possibility. Word is spammers don't join lists. -- Charani (UK) OPC for Walton, Ashcott, Shapwick, Greinton and Clutton, SOM http://wsom-opc.org.uk

He is not just subscribing to Surname lists. I just checked a bunch of Irish County list I manage and my Irish in Michigan list and found him subscribed. He is now moderated. Thanks for pointing this out. Most Irish list did have a big spam attack months ago by a guy advertising a site with all kinds of links to Irish projects, but which is really full of click and pay him links. I suspect this is along those lines again. That guy used a fake name. His "site" covers the U.S. too. Maybe he has added Surnames. Anything to push the advertising links. Christina

On 7/11/2013 2:09 PM, Clan Scott List Administrator wrote: > I may be over-reacting but I'd rather err on the side of caution: I would rather err on the side of reasonable expectations. I do not think there is anywhere nearly enough reason to think untoward activity is looming. I have no *problem* with what you are doing. But I would not do it myself, and I would not recommend it to other list admins. > Over the last month I have had several subscriber requests from > tyronealcon@gmail.com (Tyrone Alcon) to unrelated and diverse surname > lists. They have occurred one at a time and rarely on the same > day. Unless this individual has a rather unusual family tree or is a > long-lost cousin, I doubt someone would have interest in the surname > lists he's been requesting subscription. I have also done a search > and found his name "welcomed" by at least three other list administrators. This just does not sound like anything the least out of the normal to me. *Could* it be? Sure. But spammers just do not have this kind of patience, in my experience. > Perhaps I'm thinking the worst of people Perhaps. > but after a couple of these > subscription requests, I put him on moderation. No harm done there, **IF** you are watching your lists closely enough, and respond quickly enough, that you will not unduly delay legitimate posts that might be made. I think it likely that you are, indeed, watching closely enough. So far, so good. > I encourage other > list administrators to take the same defensive action for this > individual (and any other suspicious new subscribers) until it can be > confirmed Mr Alcon is legitimate. I disagree almost completely. If you have nothing better to do with your time than hover over your lists, sure. Go for it. But I advise against that approach as a general principle. However, see my previous paragraph. > So far, he has not posted anything on my lists but I fear he may be > setting himself up as a spammer. And he might be looking for squirrels to dip in paint and send running through an art gallery, but I don't fear that, either, until there is a REASON to fear it. If that sounds sarcastic, I apologize. I am not trying to belittle your caution, even though I feel it is a tad over done. > I don't recall anything quite like > this happening in the twenty years I have been a Rootsweb surname > list administrator. It is better to be cautious than to have to > deal with a mess! The question for me is risk and reward. I just don't see the benefit of administering a RootsWeb list that way. Repeating, I do NOT have a *problem* with what you are doing, for *your* lists. I am only reacting to your recommendation that other list admins should follow your lead. > David Scott Darrell

This person has subscribed to 40 of my list and has never posted. He started in Nov 2012 I have also e-mailed this person and get no reply. I have had him on mod since I could not get a reply from him. Shirley -----Original Message----- From: W David Samuelsen Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2013 6:41 PM To: listowners@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [LO] suspicious subscriberClan Scott ListAdministrator; Neault/Nault is a rarity, only in Quebec and northern states and he's there. David Samuelsen On 7/11/2013 2:59 PM, Deloris Williams wrote: > David, > OMG, I thought it was me perhaps not remembering or something. > I've had that very same email address subscribe to several of my lists, > and > then it would get unsubbed later that same day, or in a relatively short > period of time. On several occasions, the address re-subs to the same list > that he's just unsubbed from, and I was thinking at first, well maybe this > person had been unsubbed by RW because they do that when an address has > been > spamming the lists. I've got surnames and county lists that it's been > happening to, but it seems far too strange that this person would be doing > that. I put the address on moderation, though, to see if anything is being > posted by it, but so far, all I'm seeing is a lot of subbing and unsubbing > on several lists. > > > Deloris Williams > > > -------------------------------------------------- > From: "Clan Scott List Administrator" <listadmin@clanscottsociety.org> > Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2013 2:09 PM > To: <listowners@rootsweb.com> > Subject: [LO] suspicious subscriber > >> I may be over-reacting but I'd rather err on the side of caution: >> >> Over the last month I have had several subscriber requests from >> tyronealcon@gmail.com (Tyrone Alcon) to unrelated and diverse surname >> lists. They have occurred one at a time and rarely on the same >> day. Unless this individual has a rather unusual family tree or is a >> long-lost cousin, I doubt someone would have interest in the surname >> lists he's been requesting subscription. I have also done a search >> and found his name "welcomed" by at least three other list >> administrators. >> >> Perhaps I'm thinking the worst of people but after a couple of these >> subscription requests, I put him on moderation. I encourage other >> list administrators to take the same defensive action for this >> individual (and any other suspicious new subscribers) until it can be >> confirmed Mr Alcon is legitimate. >> >> So far, he has not posted anything on my lists but I fear he may be >> setting himself up as a spammer. I don't recall anything quite like >> this happening in the twenty years I have been a Rootsweb surname >> list administrator. It is better to be cautious than to have to >> deal with a mess! >> >> >> David Scott >> Surname List Administrator for: >> * Pardo * Lambremont * Balwearie * Buccleuch * Buckalew * Bucklew * >> Harden * Laidlaw * Langlands * Scott * Clan Scott * >> > > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > LISTOWNERS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to LISTOWNERS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Seems like y'all (and I'm not even Southern) are using admin subscription approvals FAR too much and are FAR too paranoid. Except for lists with specific subscription requirement (closed type memberships) the approval option was originally meant to be used on a temporary basis if a problem arose on a list...it was never intended to be used (abused?) on a mass permanent basis. Joan In a message dated 7/11/2013 6:18:50 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, decann@infionline.net writes: Paul, I THOUGHT this was true as well, but apparently not in all cases, despite what Gerhard says. I've been a List Admin for nearly fifteen years and definitely am not anything even remotely close to being a spammer. Not very long ago, upon submitting a sub request to a particular list in the UK for an area of interest to me, I discovered the list was apparently set for the moderation of all sub request, which is clearly a valid option for any of us on our lists. However, after 3 or 4 days, I wrote to the Admin and asked if there was some problem, since I had received no notice of subbing nor any rejection. Then, several more days later upon receiving no reply to my personal note, I wrote to Gerhard asking if the list had an active Admin and if he could check into it for me and perhaps subscribe me to the list. Then, ten days or so from my original sub request, I FINALLY got a reply from Gerhard stating the list subscriptions were on moderation (obviously!) and the Admin chose not to approve mine WITH NO REASON STATED. To this day I have no clue why I am banned from the list, but the only remotely possible reason I can think of is that it upset her that I wrote to the Listmaster (Gerhard) after more than a week with no reply from then 2 requests to the Admin. That is what you are supposed to do if you don't get a reply from an Admin in a reasonable period of time, but when I asked Gerhard if she could do that all he said was, "yes, that is her option as Admin," and to this day I am still not on the list and have no clue why, and I still have not even heard from the List Admin herself. :-( Very strange situation, but note that there appears to be at least one vague and secret exception to what you stated below. <sigh> David E. Cann decann@infionline.net -----Original Message----- From: listowners-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:listowners-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Paul L LeBlanc Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2013 3:20 PM To: listowners@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [LO] suspicious subscriber <snip> Gerhard said as long as he did not break any rules we had to sub him. <snip> ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to LISTOWNERS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Paul, I THOUGHT this was true as well, but apparently not in all cases, despite what Gerhard says. I've been a List Admin for nearly fifteen years and definitely am not anything even remotely close to being a spammer. Not very long ago, upon submitting a sub request to a particular list in the UK for an area of interest to me, I discovered the list was apparently set for the moderation of all sub request, which is clearly a valid option for any of us on our lists. However, after 3 or 4 days, I wrote to the Admin and asked if there was some problem, since I had received no notice of subbing nor any rejection. Then, several more days later upon receiving no reply to my personal note, I wrote to Gerhard asking if the list had an active Admin and if he could check into it for me and perhaps subscribe me to the list. Then, ten days or so from my original sub request, I FINALLY got a reply from Gerhard stating the list subscriptions were on moderation (obviously!) and the Admin chose not to approve mine WITH NO REASON STATED. To this day I have no clue why I am banned from the list, but the only remotely possible reason I can think of is that it upset her that I wrote to the Listmaster (Gerhard) after more than a week with no reply from then 2 requests to the Admin. That is what you are supposed to do if you don't get a reply from an Admin in a reasonable period of time, but when I asked Gerhard if she could do that all he said was, "yes, that is her option as Admin," and to this day I am still not on the list and have no clue why, and I still have not even heard from the List Admin herself. :-( Very strange situation, but note that there appears to be at least one vague and secret exception to what you stated below. <sigh> David E. Cann decann@infionline.net -----Original Message----- From: listowners-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:listowners-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Paul L LeBlanc Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2013 3:20 PM To: listowners@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [LO] suspicious subscriber <snip> Gerhard said as long as he did not break any rules we had to sub him. <snip>

David, I don't think you can tell whether the surname lists someone subscribes to are a "reasonable" mix of surnames, or not. My parents are not remotely related to one another, nor are any of their eight sibling remotely related to their spouses. Makes for a lot of diversity in the surnames I research. I do think it's odd that this individual is subscribing to so many lists, including about a dozen of mine. My first thought is that he's working up to a massive SPAM attack on the lists. In any case, thank you for mentioning him. I've moderated him on all my lists, so whatever he has planned isn't going to cause a problem on my lists. Diana > -----Original Message----- > From: listowners-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:listowners-bounces@rootsweb.com] > On Behalf Of Clan Scott List Administrator > Sent: Thursday, July 11, 2013 3:10 PM > To: listowners@rootsweb.com > Subject: [LO] suspicious subscriber > > I may be over-reacting but I'd rather err on the side of caution: > > Over the last month I have had several subscriber requests from > tyronealcon@gmail.com (Tyrone Alcon) to unrelated and diverse surname > lists. They have occurred one at a time and rarely on the same > day. Unless this individual has a rather unusual family tree or is a > long-lost cousin, I doubt someone would have interest in the surname > lists he's been requesting subscription. I have also done a search > and found his name "welcomed" by at least three other list administrators. > > Perhaps I'm thinking the worst of people but after a couple of these > subscription requests, I put him on moderation. I encourage other > list administrators to take the same defensive action for this > individual (and any other suspicious new subscribers) until it can be > confirmed Mr Alcon is legitimate. > > So far, he has not posted anything on my lists but I fear he may be > setting himself up as a spammer. I don't recall anything quite like > this happening in the twenty years I have been a Rootsweb surname > list administrator. It is better to be cautious than to have to > deal with a mess! > > > David Scott

I haven't seen this address subscribe to any of my lists but I don't think from what you all have written that he sounds like a spammer. A couple possibilities one okay and one not would be 1) his research is progressing or he is doing research for others maybe even professionally and that is why he is subscribing to diverse lists. I do this myself when I'm researching a line that is often not my own for other people, and 2) he is subscribing to many lists with the intention of grabbing all the posts for the purpose of offsite archiving which is NOT permitted unless permission is given by RootsWeb. However, that said, as long as the Listmaster has been informed I think it would be up to RootsWeb and not individual list admins to monitor for this possibility. For the records...it would not be the first time that happened if, indeed, that is his reason for subbing to many lists. Joan In a message dated 7/11/2013 3:20:54 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, pleblan@aim.com writes: I asked Gerhard about him months ago when he subed to about two dozen in a week. Right now he is at over 200 of mine. Gerhard said as long as he did not break any rules we had to sub him. I ever emailed him and offered to sub him to the rest of my lists. I am still getting 4 or 5 a week. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to LISTOWNERS-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message