Internet users call it spam.
Either way, unsolicited commercial e-mail is causing such a stir in the industry that the president of a Dearborn, Mich., based Internet service provider known nationally for doing business with cyber junk mailers is getting daily death threats. The controversy has become so heated that Phillip Lawlor, the president and chief executive of Apex Global Internet Services, recently moved out of his house after his address and telephone number were posted on the Internet by anti-spam crusaders. Lawlor said he routinely gets more than 200 e-mail messages a day from people complaining about spam, the cyberworld's junk mail. It's really easy being a big tough guy sitting behind your computer screen in a dorm room. Despite the threats and complaints, Lawlor stands behind his decision to maintain commercial bulk mailers as clients.