Anti spam solutions

[Robert Brockway]

On Wed, 8 Oct 2003, Wil McGilvery wrote:

> However; if I could have my way I would implement an opt-in email system
> similar to TMDA. I personally don't have an issue with registering with
> an email system to send email. I do that already with user lists. Other
> users in our company are not so sure. Of course if everyone used that
> kind of system, Spammers would probably find a way around it as well.

Probably.  I think the ultimate solution to spamming is economic warfare.
Spamming only continues because _someone_ is buying from them.

Educating people to understand that if you buy from a spammer they are
responsible for keeping the system going, as well as heavy fines for
spamming and we might see an impact.  I'll be the first to admit this is
difficult for a number of reasons:

1) An increasing number of spammers operate from jurisdictions that are
unwilling or unable to apply any pressure to them.

2) The profitiblity threshold of spamming is so low that even a tiny
minority the population buying from them can keep the system going.

Thr trick is not to reduce their profits to zero (since this is nigh on
impossible) but to reduce them to a point that the work involved in
continuing to spam makes it unviable.  This isn't a new idea but I suspect
it is an idea whos time is coming.  Could you imagine government sponsored
anti-spam commercials on TV educating new users about why not to buy the
products being advertised in this way.  Maybe I'm an optimist afterall :)

Rob


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Robert Brockway B.Sc. email: robert-5LEc/6Zm6xCUd8a0hrldnti2O/JbrIOy at public.gmane.org, zzbrock at uqconnect.net
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