>>>I guess I just disagree with most folks over the definition of spam. To me, it's very simple and quite consistent. Spam is mass-generated email from a company with which I have had no dealings; or mass-generated email from a company that has otherwise stated that they would *not* send such mail.
>>
>>This is another great comment in regards to spam.
>
>However, how can someone know if such an email is part of a mass-generated email?
>
>By posting a message here on the UT asking if other people have also received the email in question (see message #736823).

This was not related to that but in general as to mostly know by just reading the email if it is bound to such criteria. When an email is well formed and look quite custom, it is extremely difficult to know if it is auto generated or not. Of course, some of high level spam such as "Make 50,000$..." or "Buy 3 DVDs, get one free" are easy to spot as mass-generated emails. But, others are quite difficult, especially if being sent by one of your friends or someone you know in the community.