Dear Microsoft,

I notice I'm getting a lot of hits from Bing lately. Only, those hits I'm getting have a fake referrer string with single word searches for generic terms like "audio" and "openid." What's more, these hits all come from your IP address range, *and* they identify themselves as Internet Explorer 6 (an 8-year-old browser which should be de-supported).

I have no problem with real people arriving here from Bing. In fact, the more the merrier. What I *do* have a problem with is you mucking up my web stats with your astroturfing. I don't particularly appreciate the fact that your fake hits account for over *two thirds* of my IE 6 hits, and NINE TENTHS of my Bing hits. I almost get the feeling you want to convince web developers that more people are using IE 6 and Bing than actually are.

Sincerely,
An irritated web developer