It seems that one of the latest fad web businesses is to offer a service to users that lets them keep their contact lists in a database maintained by a web-based service company.

The selling points appears to be that, either by direct access or through a mail client/browser plug-in, your contact would be available anywhere, AND, the service automatically polls your contacts via email so that they all have the "opportunity" to keep their contact information up to date while you sit back, no doubt drinking a favorite beverage and assuming you've done yourself, and the world, a great service.

Why the world? Because, some of these 3rd party services also offer the opportunity to pre-screen your email and "help" sort out the wheat from the spam ... but more about that later.

Let's go back to the concept of putting your contacts in someone else's database. Again, the question is who's the bozo? The shysters that thought up this novel business, or those who subscribe to it? Why does this imply there's a bozo? Simple ... before doing this with your contacts, just go and read the "privacy policies" of some of these services ...

In one particular case, the service promises not to spam or bother their customers BUT specifically ignores spamming or bothering their customers' contacts.

Sure enough, that is exactly what they do: once they have the email addresses they start spamming the contacts not just to verify the email addresses on behalf of their customers, but also to sell their services to the contacts. What a genius idea - first you con people into giving you their contacts (for a monthly fee, no less) and then you use their contact as a email list to go troll for more business.

Sheesh.

In another case, the service promises not to spam its customers and not to use their contacts EXCEPT in the case where the business is acquired or merged with another business, in which case ... all bets are off.

Of course, if you also let these services pre-screen your email for spam, then you've given them two legs up: they get valid email addresses to add to their databases, and, they can also scan the content of your email - making sure the probability of your email being insecure just maximized.

In all cases, you really think that these companies aren't going to turn a buck (or Euro, or Yen, or Ruble, etc.) by selling the aggregated contact lists to 3rd party spammers???? If you think they won't, let's talk about shares in a bridge in Brooklyn - or maybe you'd like to buy a timeshare interest in a piece of Floridan swamp ...

So, do yourself - and more to the point - your friends and contacts a favor: skip these services. Keep your contacts confidential to yourself and you'll be doing a lot to help your contacts not get even more spam ...

As for keep your contacts up to do - shouldn't you do that yourself?

After all, the important ones and frequently used ones you're going to do it anyway.

Who cares about all the others ....