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[Asrg] Content versus conversation

2003-03-17 21:44:10
  As a non-US resident, I won't get into U.S. laws.

  I would say, though, that content filtering (which may be useful1 on
an individual level) should be outside of the scope of this group.
The problem with spam is not the content, but the conversation.

  Spam is unwanted conversation, not unwanted content.  That alone
means that any recipient-based filtering scheme will never be a
solution to the spam problem.  Those methods may help individuals deal
with their spam problem, but they will never help the network deal
with it.

  As conversation and not content, spam is like getting flowers from a
stalker.  It's nice in a normal relationship, but in the context of
stalking, it's creepy and often illegal.

  The idea of "free speech" similarly relates to content, not to
conversation.  Anyone is free to say anything they want, but if they
follow me around and yell in my ear, it's harassment.

  On the other extreme, if every day I was receiving 100,000
legitimate offers to give me $10, I probably wouldn't treat them as
spam.  (And I wouldn't be on this list.)

  Alan DeKok.
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