Your logic breaks over the fact that you got the message because of who you both know ... the ietf.org mailing list. It was not unsolicited mail from a party with which you have no relationship. On Tue, 2 Mar 2004, Ed Gerck wrote: > > > > I'd suggest that in this case you _are_ reacting to who > > they know. In some sense they 'know' you, because they're > > reacting to something you wrote, > > Who you know (even me) was not important to me. Your message's > content was the deciding factor that made me send this reply > to you. > > Thus, in deciding whether I would reply to your message, indeed > it was relevant to me that you read my previous posting. However, > I did not care who you are or who you know. I wouldn't care > even if you would claim to know of me (a claim that email scams > from Nigeria often make) or someone I know (ditto). > > > and thus have gained entry to your circle of > > people-worth-talking-with. > > Solely by what you wrote, my point exactly.