Hi Scott,
That's a lot of questions...
One person's junk (or spam) is another person's treasure!
Something important to keep in mind is...when we're looking for people to join a business, we need to find LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE. Approximately 3% of the general public are interested in joining a homebased money-making opportunity, BUT a much greater number of people who are members of online networking communities such as Adlandpro are very interested in joining businesses.
Another thing, reading and clicking on the links in messages will tell us a few things...how well-written the message is...AND more importantly, how much that person has spent and is willing to spend on joining a business. The amount of money spent and potentially will spend in the future is of vital importance to those of us who are seeking people to join our businesses, AND their motivation to advertise! All marketers are looking for people with motivation and a willingness to make investments in programs and advertising.
Spam or junk mail gives us obvious clues if we're looking for them and willing to read and click for more information, maybe not to join that person's business, but to get a better idea of whether they'd be a good addition to our own programs.
IN THE WORLD OF REAL POSTAL MAIL, I get lots of chain letters almost every day, and the first thing I think is..."I can't believe people join these things and make copies and buy stamps and expect money!" The next thing I wonder is..."Did they really pay the dollar or few bucks to the person above them or just plop their name on this without paying?" THEN the most important thing I do is...reverse mail them my offers because I know they have money for making copies, buying envelopes, BUYING STAMPS, and the motivation to send mail out!! Even if they are chain-letter junkies, they still have proven to me that they have money to invest and the motivation to promote.