From: security curmudgeon To: Dan Verton Date: Tue, 2 Sep 2003 15:50:54 -0400 (EDT) Subject: Re: your mail : re:errata posting on Meta spam: get a life, kid, before you grow up : and find yourself still doing this stupid shit Oh, so condescending, it's cute! Since I put this up what, less than 48 hours ago, you ego trolling google that often? Pure coincidence? Trolling Errata knowing you'd appear there some day? : ha ha, this is so rediculous, it's funny. : content="secure security hacking hacker hack phreak phreaking crypto : cryptography encryption defacement mirror text files image : gallery humor poetry music review tools utilities attrition truth : errata scotch wine jericho cancer omega punkis mcintyre : modify munge mal_vu e-zine advisory advisories antionline : happyhacker newbie unix first second amendment guns firearms 0wn3d : meinel vranesevich shame guilt temple-of-hate linux cult : hero fbi nsa media dianetics scientology hubbard NOTs laurence godfrey : gay postal" name=keywords> except, at one point or another, we had pages dedicated to each of those topics or our name was most closely associated with it (ie: temple-of-hate). Your meta words? matrix, linux, CIO, blog, web log, x-men, reloaded Care to tell me how your site relates to each of those specifically? The rest I can see you debating as fringe topics to material in your last book, so I wouldn't argue those. If you haven't written about the Matrix, don't run a blog and aren't one of the X-men, it seems like shameless meta tag spam designed to garner hits to your web site regardless of what the person was after. Either way, your mail is dead on accurate with the general perception people have of you in the security industry. You also fall into the same trap young AOL'rs do with spouting off insults and not considering what you are saying. Am I really a kid? Are you really oblivious as to why errata exists and seeks to make people aware of the cheap tactics security "professionals" use to get business/attention? And did this one page pointing out the cheap meta spam really change your opinion of me? From "great source for the most accurate picture of the [hacker] community" and "expert" to "kid"? Someone you specifically call out and give half a paragraph to in the Acknowledgements of one of your books? Seriously, between us (and everyone I BCC this to), I thought if anything you would be professional enough to realize that resorting to meta spam to generate hits wasn't tacky, and that if your information was worthwhile, you wouldn't need to use such tactics. I expected humorous mail more along the lines of "ha ha ok that was cheap, i fixed it, you can remove the page you wacky asshole!". It's not too late to call me a wacky asshole and do the right thing.