Analysis Of James Veitch's More Adventures In Replying To Spam

Spam is a thing most people deal with, and it annoys almost all of them. James Veitch, however, is different. He enjoys replying to spam emails and likes to share his experiences with others. Around the time he gives his TED Talk, he has recently conversed with an email scammer. He uses multiple rhetorical devices, which are quite successful. James Veitch’s “More adventures in replying to spam” is effective in appealing to pathos and logos to convince the educated adults of the TED audience who receive spam email of the positive outcomes, as well as the delight, of responding to the said messages. The speaker appeals to pathos with nearly everything he says and does. James utilizes the humorous emails between himself and the con man
Comedy from real life is often more entertaining than comedy from a theoretical situation. The authentic online communication between the two men amuses the attendees of the lecture. The idea of the swindler having to communicate with someone who appears as gullible as one would need to actually be to fall for the scam is quite fascinating. The idiotic hustler acting as the “intelligent” correspondent is a prime example of situational irony, which audiences usually perceive as comical. The primitivity of the scam is also a source of laughter, as the lecturer points out, “Now this bank is masquerading as the Royal Bank of Scotland, right, but what I love is their email is [e-mail], which is perfect” (Veitch). The coincidence, a legitimate description of the hoax, is unintentionally satirical. While the group only perceives the incident as stupidity, it still furthers their enjoyment. Veitch additionally emphasizes certain things, like when the imposter
In his introduction of the preposterous scam, the lecturer explains the reasoning behind it: “If you think about it, [the scam] is actually rather clever, because by making the scams ridiculous, ideally for the scammer, the only people who are gonna reply are the most gullible people. And me” (Veitch). James gives not only background knowledge on the con, but also why it is stealthily ingenious. However, as the orator mentions, the plan does not always work out as the deceiver wants it to. When someone like Veitch replies to the scam, his perceptiveness puts him in control, and he is able to deter the crook from hurting others. The crowd can understand this fact and it fortifies their enthusiasm to attempt the experiment. He also outright advises the audience to reply to scam emails as well: “Do do this at home, because not only do you have a chance to stop them doing actual damage, but it’s also a chance to have fun, to play” (Veitch). He gives both a logical reason and an entertaining reason to respond to a scammer. These are his best lines of reasoning for doing so. Since many attendees of the TED Talk are already enthusiastic to go home and start answering a con man’s emails, mainly to see what surprising and funny statements they will obtain, James has already convinced the majority of his listeners. Some of these well-read individuals still feel that