The definition of email spam is purposely vague because everybody has
his or her own definition. As it currently stands, email spam is in the eye
of the beholder. Email spam usually pertains to unsolicited commercial
messages sent in bulk by people you don't know--although there are exceptions
to this rule.
Some spammers will argue that email spam is not any different than
traditional junk mail, but there is one undeniable difference... cost.
The cost of sending junk mail through conventional means is
very real, including postage costs paid by the sender. The cost of sending email spam is very small, and most of the costs are
paid by people other than the sender.
The lack of significant barriers (cost) to entry (sending) is often
cited as a key problem with email spam. With traditional junk mail,
a direct marketer must ensure that the offer & targeting are good
enough to more than offset the costs of mailing. With email spam, anything
goes, often in the form of shady deals and outright scams.
While the monetary costs of emailing are small, there are other non-monetary
costs that junk emailers face; the risk of getting kicked
off of their ISP or webhost, plus the risk of tarnishing their name within the legitimate marketing community.
