Mat Bowles

Nikkogen follow up: Automated spamming at its best?

Remember this post last week about that Nikkogen thing? Well, I got an email Monday:

Good morning Mr Bowles,

Please can you remove any reference to Nikkogen from your website/blog. The information on your website received automated or not is incorrect and any reference to our company as being a fraud is incorrect.

You have a week to remove any reference to our company.

Ray Jenkins
Director Business Development
Nikkogen Ltd
South Wales
United Kingdom
Tel: 44-121-288-2058 (Direct)

D’you like that? Apparently the initial spam comment was automated. Or at least I think that’s what it’s trying to say. It appears that they may be admitting to spamming, but are doing so via an automated spam. No apology for spamming either. I mailed Tim about it, he said he’d had no follow up, I filed it under ‘ignore’ as there’s nothing they can do legally. Thing is, it appears I’m not the only one they’ve emailed. Unity got very similar:

Good morning Mr Unity,

(He actually used my real surname, which hasn’t exactly endeared him to me) ^[1]

Please can you remove any reference to Nikkogen from your website/blog. The information on your website received automated or not is incorrect and any reference to our company as being a fraud is incorrect.

You may wish to contact Tim Worstall - who will I’m sure confirm that the information he provided via his website/blog was incorrect.

You have a week to remove any reference to our company.

Which again ends on that veiled threat. Mr Jenkins? We each have a week to remove the reference or? And please, if you’re based within the UK, at least try and run your automated emails through a grammar checker? You might want to make them factually accurate as well, because, you know, in this modern internet age, checking facts between someone based in Devon, someone based in Birmingham and someone in Portugal is really quite simple. Tim Worstall: Nikkogen^[2]:

Err, no, I won’t confirm that the information in my earlier post was incorrect. It remains my opinion that this wonderful new power source is a fraud and a scam. Two further points. One is that no one can insist upon such an absurdly restrictive request as removing ‘any reference’ to a company.

The second is that statements of opinion cannot be libellous.

As Unity puts it in his post linked above:

You cannot get more energy out of a system than you put into - it is not possible. In fact you invariably get out less than you put in, as some of the energy ‘lost’ as heat and, occasionally, light.

But, as he’s now both annoyed and intrigued, he’s done some more research:

You see that’s the thing about entropy - it’ll get you every single time.

Even the excellent Micheal Bywater joined in the posting fun.

I’m going to reply to Mr Jenkin’s email now before I turn in. It’ll be a simple link to this post.

Mr Jenkins? Some free advice, something I’d usually charge for.

1. Don’t spam.
2. Don’t pay others to spam.
3. If you realise that’s a mistake and wish to correct it, apologise.
4. Get your facts straight.
5. Don’t make veiled threats with no substance.
6. Understand the basic principles of free comment on the internet or in press. It’s called freedom of the press, a concept you may have heard of.
7. If you want someone to do something, be explicit, request politely and explain why they should do as you request.
8. Don’t try and promote a product that gives every appearance of being based off very dodgy science to a bunch of tech aware online types without at the very least explaining the basics, because we can research and do know what we’re doing.  And if we don’t?  We know someone that does.

That last bit? The bit about knowing what you’re doing? I wouldn’t invest in a company promoting itself like this even if they had a veritable licence to print money. You don’t.

I have no idea if their product is legit. From what I’ve seen, I doubt it. But I really don’t like them at the moment. That is, of course, a personal opinion, and I leave it to my friends and readers to make up their own mind.

[2] Tim Worstall is , he does the weekly Britblog roundup and has used blogging to leverage himself into paid writing jobs for various newspapers quite effectively.

December 7th, 2006 Posted by MatGB | Uncategorized | 7 comments

I blame <lj user=”innerbrat”>

I’m ill. That’s, of course, not Debi’s fault. It’s only a mild cold, but my concentration has gone to pot. That’s not her fault either. What is her fault? Well, rather than spending the evening doing the things I meant to do? I’ve been hitting “random comic” at . Today’s offering:

What’s wrong with believing God had to commit suicide in order to pay himself the debt humans owed him because their ancestors were persuaded by a talking snake to eat a forbidden fruit?

Just keep clicking around. Not, of course, for the easily offended. Or the humour impaired. But it’s kept me happy all evening.

Of course, one of the things I should have been reading today waas the membership pack I received in the post for the British Humanist Association. I joined it last week after a discussion at ’s (about the point that about 50% of Britain appear to actually be atheist by inclination) reminded me of my decision to do so when next I had some cash, I was prompted to when Linda Smith died and I found out she’d been their president.

Reading through the literature, I might find out more about becoming an Officiant. Might.

There should be another post to follow, about the spammers I mentioned last week, but, well, my ability to type straight has gone to pot

December 7th, 2006 Posted by MatGB | Uncategorized | no comments