Spam in the 3I

[Blue Ghost]

Is there spam in the far future? When the captain or whoever checks the ship's logs or mail are there lots of solicitations for advanced fees and free cash?

I start this topic because I keep getting spam from who knows where. From domains located in Sweden, Venezeula, universities in some country I've never heard of ... just all over the place. So it got me to thinking that what if one of your players, or perhaps your character, just on a whim, decided to respond, answer or even track down the source of one of these spams?

Would it be a good adventure seed to crack a criminal syndicate? Would your adventurers stumble or wander into a nest of terrorism and intrigue?

Thoughts?

p.s. seriously, I have no idea where half this stuff comes from, but it strikes me that it's the stuff of a good adventure seed.

 

[flykiller]

Is there spam in the far future?

if it works, then yes. data plate scanners, retinal scanners, behavior algorithm scanners, all accessing databases to 1) identify targets down to individuals and even to an individual's present mood and 2) present them with ads of likely interest, the ads actuating on every billboard, every viewscreen, every holoprojector, and every audio-propagator in range, all emitting scientifically-designed images/sounds/odors based on a thousand years of human psychological studies to gain attention, hold attention, punish inattention, and threaten consequences for non-compliance.

(my local bank has audio-visual advertisements, poster advertisements, floor tiles with advertisements. no matter where you turn your eyes, there's an advertisement. the audio-visual has actors with sticky voices to stimulate taste sensations and overload your subconscious mind, and the accompanying music and verbiage is designed to disrupt independent coherent thinking and to channel your thoughts into the advertised subject by initiating a pattern then delaying its completion, forcing your mind to complete the pattern.)

From domains located in Sweden, Venezeula, universities in some country I've never heard of ... just all over the place.

probably zombies. the spam does not originate from those locations, they're just waystations from the actual originator.

what if one of your players, or perhaps your character, just on a whim, decided to respond, answer or even track down the source of one of these spams?

almost certainly would run up against laws guaranteeing the privacy of spammers. in the early days of spamming one russian spammer was found to be emitting 30 million emails a day - if he got four replies he considered it a good day. if scientifically-designed spamming can steer only .01% of an entire world's economy then you can bet the top level economic actors will push it for all it's worth and protect it with everything they have.

 

[Terquem]

Your Interplanetary ISP is here to serve you!

I’ve always had a hard time imagining how something like the “internet” would work in the far future settings (particularly MTU) like Traveller.

I recently ran a game where the crew of a scout ship came into a system and wanted to run a search on all ships of a certain “kind” that had come through that system in the last 30 days, and I threw a wrench in their plans when I had that system’s IP providers be extreme extortionists

“Oh, yes ma’am, we have an unlimited data connection plan available with a continuous hi power broadcast from several satellites, even as far out a 200 Au’s. How would you like to pay for your plan?”

Sure the scout service (which I call the Interplanetary Relief Society) in MTU, provides basic library access to local facility files, but accessing the greater data resources within a system might be restricted depending on many different factors.

 

[McPerth]

It is my custom to note the meritorious service to the game and the board's community for my birthday.

The following have exhibited great merit and richly deserve reward:

• Leitz
  • programming repository
• Gypsy Knight
• Golan2072 (Omer)
  • Publishers active on the board and keeping the flame alive politely
• Spenser TR
  • Voicing desires in such a way that they get addressed by the moot
• McPerth
  
  • Spammer Assassinations

Since GK already holds the Admin award, no change to his profile.
Likewise, McPerth holds one as well.
Spenser, Omer, and Leitz - a new bit shall appear in your profiles henceforth, to let all know we appreciate your efforts for the Traveller game and the COTI Boards.

So say we,
William
Archduke of Sylea
Fief Holder of COTI

Guess what will be my character in this adventure :devil:

 

[GrayPennell]

I have considered this for awhile IMTU spamming is local issue and a failure of the local communication system and your ships IT systems. That lonely engineer who is looking at ⌧ while the modular cutter as it goes about its work brings spam on board and everything goes bad. "I can't load the navigation program because I keep getting ⌧!"

I also had some T5 hacking rules but lost them them in computer crash. But again if the local starport gets hacked all bests are off.

 

[Timerover51]

You do already have the ultimate spam in the Imperium, the "VIRUS".

Since I am not a fan of that, the problem I see is picking up spam on one planet and transmitting it to another. I can see that it definitely will be a problem, but on planets with High Law Levels, there may be a mandate that computers use a different operation system than standard, to try to avoid imported spam. Also, spammers at High Law Levels might be literally assassinated for clogging up the information network.

It would also depend on how different computer operating systems are a very High Tech levels. You could have cases where the spam requires a very high level operating system, which your ship or the planet might not have. If the spammer or hacker is looking for Windows 1500 and your computer is running only Windows 1350, the system problems that they are looking to exploit are not going to be there.

It does pose a lot of possibilities however. This would be one case of where operating on low Tech Level worlds would be a great benefit.

 

[flykiller]

I threw a wrench in their plans when I had that system’s IP providers be extreme extortionists

I hear that traveller has the skill "computer" ....

 

[Terquem]

HA!

That's exactly what they did

Computer skill

Park next to satellite

Route all billing to a Mister Quacker J. Quackersmith

 

[Condottiere]

Chances are that boner pills are safe and work on demand.

What's more alarming will be pyramid schemes and attempts at political influencing.

 

[Timerover51]

Is there spam in the far future? When the captain or whoever checks the ship's logs or mail are there lots of solicitations for advanced fees and free cash?

I start this topic because I keep getting spam from who knows where. From domains located in Sweden, Venezeula, universities in some country I've never heard of ... just all over the place. So it got me to thinking that what if one of your players, or perhaps your character, just on a whim, decided to respond, answer or even track down the source of one of these spams?

Would it be a good adventure seed to crack a criminal syndicate? Would your adventurers stumble or wander into a nest of terrorism and intrigue?

Thoughts?

p.s. seriously, I have no idea where half this stuff comes from, but it strikes me that it's the stuff of a good adventure seed.

As this thread is about spam in the Imperium, I would hope that spammers there would be more creative than the ones I was bombarded with today.

modernstealing.com

 

[flykiller]

What's more alarming will be pyramid schemes and attempts at political influencing.

the south spinward company.

 

[kilemall]

I would treat it as just another avenue for rumors, and occasionally a patron who tries to discretely contact the adventurers, only to be lost in a wilderness of artificially enhanced organs and get rich quick spam.

As for ships computer, IMTU they are avionic grade systems and do not email/surf anymore then one would surf on a space shuttle computer. All games/email/business correspondence goes into much cheaper systems while the ships computer is only online to the shipyard for navigation upgrades during annual maintenance.

 

[Barrel]

"Is there spam in the far future? When the captain or whoever checks the ship's logs or mail are there lots of solicitations for advanced fees and free cash?"

"(my local bank has audio-visual advertisements, poster advertisements, floor tiles with advertisements. no matter where you turn your eyes, there's an advertisement. the audio-visual has actors with sticky voices to stimulate taste sensations and overload your subconscious mind, and the accompanying music and verbiage is designed to disrupt independent coherent thinking and to channel your thoughts into the advertised subject by initiating a pattern then delaying its completion, forcing your mind to complete the pattern.)"

Didn't Minority Report have something like that? As the character walked around retinal scanners picked up his identity and ran targeted holographic ads? Travellers to worlds of the right tech level might be targeted the same way the moment the step outside the starport. As the scanners determined they weren't in the local database they would be shown ads for hotels, red light districts, prepaid service plans for taxis, restaurants, legal plans, datanet services, body guards, and tour guides. Another ad promises their ad blocker can make the annoyance go away...

 

[coliver988]

Greeting. I am writing on behalf of Lt. Ammai. He had accumulated millions in local currency—being phased out to use Imperial credits—from the cash brought into the world by the Imperial Army occupation prior to the world accepting Imperial rule. The soldier needed to launder this money, fast, and needed an Imperial bank account to do it. In return for a cut of the total, could he use yours?

edit: things you get posted to your inbox when you sync up with the starport systems. Time to update your phishing tools!

 

[flykiller]

while the ships computer is only online to the shipyard for navigation upgrades during annual maintenance

sh ...

hear that?

that's the sound of 10,000 bored computer geeks hearing a challenge ....

Another ad promises their ad blocker can make the annoyance go away...

might be a retirement benefit. or a high social status privilege. otherwise stepping into the ad environment would be like stepping into a zoo's butterfly exhibit filled with ten thousand carnivorous butterflies.

 

[Blue Ghost]

Greeting. I am writing on behalf of Lt. Ammai. He had accumulated millions in local currency—being phased out to use Imperial credits—from the cash brought into the world by the Imperial Army occupation prior to the world accepting Imperial rule. The soldier needed to launder this money, fast, and needed an Imperial bank account to do it. In return for a cut of the total, could he use yours?

edit: things you get posted to your inbox when you sync up with the starport systems. Time to update your phishing tools!

Heh, I know I mentioned it in the opening post, but I actually haven't gotten a 419 spam in ages (not that I want one). It strikes me as something that humans in client worlds might try, or even Vargr with some human savvy to steal some credits without having to raid a merchant.

These kinds of scams might actually be targeted at K'Kree, infurating them even more. Hiver might use them because that's what hivers do. Droyne? I'm not sure about Droyne. It's probably something scheming Solis would do to Aslan, though SolSec probably cracks down on domestic phishing and spam.

I can see a group of adventurers being tasked to crack one of these rings with adventurous results.

 

[Blue Ghost]

The latest, I got one pretending to be a Virushi nurse concerned for my well being as I entered my 60s (which is many years away, FWIW). It's a radical departure from the Vilani mail-order brides and other like-themed spam (though I've yet to get a Vargr spam ... pet products? Then again Vargr are uplifted wolves and not dogs). Interestingly enough I've never gotten a Zhodani spam (psychic), nor an Aslan spam (not sure what the real world equivalent would be).

I think a Genoee spam would be 419 material, and said Genoee would claim they invented spam (a dubious honor).

I wonder what Darrien spam would be like. Some high tech self destructing ransom ware?

 

[flykiller]

Vilani mail-order brides

(slaps forehead) now there's a screaming boatload of adventure ideas.

http://www.travellerrpg.com/CotI/Discuss/showpost.php?p=515530&postcount=83

I've never gotten a Zhodani spam (psychic)

sure you have. but why would they tell you?

 

[giant.robot]

At the planetary level, there's likely tons of spam. Any sort of reachable address will get all kinds of unsolicited messages. Once the light lag goes from milliseconds to seconds or minutes and requires directional antennas the amount of spam would likely drop off considerably.

IMTU (and my view of things)is a ship jumping into a system would connect to a system’s data networks like we used to use the internet in the days of dialup. You make a connection, fire off some batch requests, make coffee and use the bathroom, and then read everything offline.

Real-time communication past a few light seconds would be uncommon for most commercial traffic. Just the fact a transceiver (and antenna) would need to be tasked for the duration would cost someone money somewhere. Systems with A and B star ports would likely have relay networks in-system so a ship in the outer system or at the 100D limit from a main could hit a relay relatively close which was always pointing back at the main world (or communication hub). The TAS would also likely have services and at least minimal infrastructure in many systems.

That sort of infrastructure would limit the amount of traffic the owners of that infrastructure would want to allow. Only paid access (flat rate or metered) would be allowed. Anyone willing to put up infrastructure could build a parallel system but it would likely not be worthwhile to do that to get a few dollars from Travellers in their beat up Beowulfs and Miravas.

Everyone would have mailbox-like accounts though that could receive spam or whatever. If your ISP (Interstellar Service Provider) synchronized boxes via courier/X-Boat a Traveller could receive a message in any system served by their network. Besides a personal account (which I see as a combination e-mail address, instant message address, and phone number) a Traveller’s TAS membership will give them a mailbox.

 

[Condottiere]

You will have AI filters to automatically trashcan normal spam.