I got the same email, was spooked by it, and didn't reply.

Sony should look into this.

I despise spam just as much as anybody, but I honestly don't think there's anything sinister afoot. For one thing, I don't think there's any way for a bot to devine personal email addresses from the forum. For another, all three of you who've replied to this post so far have in your profiles that you accept email via the forum. I do, too.

As you're all probably aware, there are a number of threads both here and on the Pinnacle forum comparing various versions of Vegas to Studio, and a number of very unhappy users of Studio 9 and 10 have been visiting this forum and either trying evaluation versions of Vegas or VMS, or purchasing one of them outright.

I know johnmeyer has weighed-in on one of these threads; don't know about FrigidND. But I'd suggest that this person may have been lurking and reading some of your posts, and has seen something in them that suggests your sincerity and/or expertise makes you someone whose opinion they'd like to have. I daresay -- depending upon the wording of these messages that you've received -- that they could be considered a form of compliment, given that they've singled you out to ask for advice.

Yeah, I could be all wet, but I would've answered, if it appeared to be a legitimate, respectful request.

cbrillow,

You're probably right. I can't ethically post the email, but I can tell you that I couldn't figure out from how it was worded whether it was legit or not. I've been contacted dozens of times over the years by people in this forum, and the questions in this email were not as direct as what I usually get.

Not to add to the paranoia but he/she would have to be registered to send you an email through the forum. You can see Dave's profile but when you click on the button to email him, it sends you to your account login screen. You have to have an account to email a forum member who has allowed email via the forum (unless, of course, someone puts his/her email in the body of a thread).

Did the format of the email match the general format of an email sent through the forum? I sent myself an email through the forum button and here is how it looks:
___________________________________________________________
"A MESSAGE FROM Sony Media Software USER BOOMHOWER

test

This message was sent via the Sony Media Software Forums. When
registering, you chose to allow other forum users to email you via this form.
If you would like to change your preference, go to:" (gives link back to Sony)
____________________________________________________________

Probably nothing but doesn't hurt to make Sony aware of a potential problem.

KB

johnmeyer said:

'I can't ethically post the email, but I can tell you that I couldn't figure out from how it was worded whether it was legit or not."

Yeah, that would cause hesitation on my part, too. You'd have to think that a polite, respectful, specific question would immediately stand out as legitimate, and your instinct is probably best. When in doubt, CYA.

Here's what I got from Anon125, with the body redacted. Looks like it might have been legit. Sorry Anon125, wherever you are:

========================
A MESSAGE FROM Sony Media Software USER ANON125

snip

This message was sent via the Sony Media Software Forums. When registering, you chose to allow other forum users to email you via this form. If you would like to change your preference, go to:

http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/myaccount/forumsettings.asp

I Just sent myself a test message and got the same Sony forum disclaimer. I tried logging out of my account and trying again and the forum required me to login first. So, I would guess that Anon125 would have to have a forum account to have sent you a message.

I assume he could have a forum account, but never have posted a message. But, then again, the new forum rules would require that he have a registered product to have a forum account.

Kinda strange...

Jim