Barry Shein writes eloquently of our problem:
Unfortunately, we still don't really have very good or generally
accepted definitions of the problem we are trying to
solve. Consequently, there's no good critical framework within which
to judge whether some proposal makes progress. If you don't know where
you're going it's hard to tell if you're getting closer.
I have been following this list -- but Barry's message struck a chord.
When I attended a couple of recent anti-spam conferences, and sought out
the lawyers who spoke about legal or legislative solutions, I got the
feeling that they had no effective working definition either.
So, I'll try to define the problem, for purpose of discussion:
Stop only those messages sent with the intent to escape
accountability for their total costs. -- William Chang
(John Levine has kindly informed me: "... the charter of the ASRG
explicitly excludes attempts to come up with a definition of spam.
Note that defining the problem is not at all the same thing as
defining spam." 12/17/2004)
This statement leaves out "content" -- which is my point. If the sender
takes responsibility for the message, then there _are_ legal, business,
personal, as well as technical remedies to stop such acts in the future.
If I forwarded an "ad" to a friend ("hey look at this") my message should
get through. Whereas, a "good", non-commercial message (Peace on Earth!),
if it is sent indiscriminantly or anonymously, needs to be stopped.
Unfortunately, our protocols and infrastructure are inadequate for
enforcing accountability. In particular, email standards (SMTP, POP3,
etc.) are entrenched and rigid, while applications (including spamming)
evolve at an incredible rate. The "Inter-Net" has lost its (original)
ability to adapt and to inter-connect disparate networks and protocols.
These are not the only problems (we wish they were), but they are basic.
Disclosure: I am the founder of a company with a novel anti-spam solution,
one that is patent pending. I am not here to discuss our invention at
this time, but rather to participate in the on-going group discussion,
at a high level. Privately, I would be happy to discuss my company and
to meet anyone from this list.
William I. Chang, PhD
President, Affini Inc
Saratoga, CA
wchang(_at_)affini(_dot_)com
wchang(_at_)affini(_dot_)net (filtered)
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