Michael,
You write:
The theoretical maximum increase in email traffic that this system could
generate would be 100%
Correct.
The near perfect efficacy of my system for blocking spam would justify
such expenditure.
No it wouldn't, such expenditure represents for infrastructure providers a
100% increase in investment in hardware and bandwidth for systems handling
email.
There is no way you could call this acceptable.
One of the key drivers behind the search for effective spam reduction is
that it would *reduce* the infrastructure investment required to handle
unwanted mail. Your system quite clearly increases the required investment.
How would you feel if your email provider said to you
“I know you are overwhelmed by spam and that this system will virtually
eliminate
it but doing so could cause a near doubling of your email traffic so you
can’t
use it and you must live with this spam burden forever”?
Wrong perspective. The ISP's statement should be rephrased as
"I know you are overwhelmed by spam and this system will virtually
eliminate it but to provide it we will double the fee we charge for your
email service simply to handle the existing volume. Incremental increases
in capacity required to handle increased levels of incoming spam will
likewise require double the current incremental charge. Perhaps you would
prefer to allow us to invest in several less effective solutions which will
reduce but not elimiate the unwanted email more cost effectively."
<snip>
I am not arguing that my system is absolute perfection, or that it suits
the needs of every email user in the world.
I only argue that it is vastly superior to anything else out there.
Take for example a typical AOL user.
Almost every AOL user is plagued by tremendous amounts of spam
I don't think AOL could raise the capital required to double their mail
traffic capacity, where would the ROI come from?
<snip>
I ask you: Is there any other system out there that,
even when applied to a hundred million people, could eliminate nearly
100%
of spam as my system would for a typical user
Your system doesn't elimiate it it merely hides it from the intended
recipient by introducing an automated challenge response systrem.
The goal should be to identify and elimiate it from the system as near to
the sender as is possible and thereby gain cost savings on the delivery of
wanted messages by reducing the ratio of wanted to unwanted.
<snip>
Is there any other comparable system that is as easy to integrate into
current email architecture?
Easy perhaps, but prohibitively expensive by design.
Before you reject my system can you suggest one that is in any way
comparable?
Is the status quo superior?
Are you holding out hope for an as of yet unknown but better system?
Have you totally given up any hope for a truly effective anti-spam
system?
Spam is not a deterministic problem. We are unlikely to achieve a single
deterministic solution.
Efforts (IMHO) to effectively reduce the burden on systems caused by spam
are likely to involve many initiatives which when taken together can also
operate non-deterministically.
I accept your criticisms, but I view them as relatively minor given the
likely efficacy of this system.
I'm not quite sure what the point of you asking us to comment was then!
Many people such as business people may decide to forgo this system.
However, this system would be the FUSSP for the enormous population of
typical users
What do you think a typical user is, and what data did you analyse to form
this assumption?
Asked to make a similar assumption I would say that the typical victim of
spam was the mail provider,
particularly business for whom there is a real and proportional dollar cost
associated with providing
the capacity required to handle their unwanted email.
out there for whom the relatively minor detractions are not important.
I'm sorry but I really don't think that cost can be described as a minor
distraction for most service providers, however big or small!
d.
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