Everyone, The FTC wants input on this important topic of mail topic
identification:
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/01/adult.htm (copy of RFC below)
Carl, this is right up your alley Definitely something (new class) to add
to your specification. Unfortuntely, IMO, as I mentioned in mail, it
seems the "Subject" line will be the most natural line where this
information will be important. Spammers will view a Solicitation: line as
redundant.
If any, we have two weeks to provide IETF input.
My input.
It talks about this "Brown Paper Wrapper" Is this some layman term for
SMTP envelope?
Since mail filtering methods is available today at the MUA end point to help
support this via rule-based mail filtering rules, the IETF needs define how
enforcment policies that will be made available at the transport level.
If this is going to be Carl's proposal, IMO, we need to decide on this
particular question:
Will client software be require to support the server advertisment policy
(EHLO No-Solicitation)? In order words, if the client intention is to send
spam, it is require (MUST? SHOULD?) to read this EHLO tag and issue a QUIT
to end the session. This falls into two categories.
Types of spammer clients:
1) Spammers might argue they are usng 3rd party mail delivery SMTP service
bureaus hence are complying with the SUBJECT line only and have no control
over 3rd party software compliance with the new EHLO and/or envelope.
2) Spammers with internal, proprietary in-house bulk send mail SMTP clients
with the ability to change the software to comply with the new EHO and/or
envelope.
Must they comply?
How about transition time frame for client software?
Anyway..... Here is a copy of the RFC (Request for Comment)
For Release: January 28, 2004
FTC Seeks Public Comment on Adult Content Spam Rule
As required by the CAN-SPAM Act, the Federal Trade Commission today
announced a proposal to establish a mark or notice that will be required for
inclusion in spam that contains sexually oriented material. The purpose of
the mark or notice is to inform the recipient that a spam message contains
sexually oriented material and to facilitate filtering of such spam
messages. Establishment of a mark to accomplish these purposes is one of
several actions that Congress has directed the Commission to undertake by
enacting the CAN-SPAM Act, which was signed into law on December 16, 2003.
A Federal Register Notice to be published shortly will seek public comment
on the proposal. The CAN-SPAM Act requires the Commission to prescribe the
mark or notice within 120 days after passage of the Act. Because of the
statutory deadline, the comment period ends on February 17.
The FTC proposes to adopt a rule prescribing the phrase
"SEXUALLY-EXPLICIT-CONTENT: " as the mark or notice mandated by the CAN-SPAM
Act. The proposed rule also would follow the intention of the CAN-SPAM Act
to protect consumers from unwitting exposure to pornographic images in spam,
by requiring this mark to be included both in the subject line of any e-mail
message that contains sexually oriented material, and in the electronic
equivalent of a "brown paper wrapper" in the body of the message. This
"brown paper wrapper" would be what a recipient would initially see when
opening a message containing sexually oriented material. It would include
the prescribed mark or notice, certain other specified information, and no
other information or images. The proposed rule would include a "definitions"
section to clarify that certain terms taken from the Act and appearing in
the rule have the definitions prescribed by particular referenced sections
of the Act. Finally, the proposed rule would include a severability
provision, so that in the event a portion of the rule is struck, the
remainder of the rule will stay in effect.
The Commission vote to approve publication of the Federal Register notice
was 5-0.
Questions or comments can be directed to adultlabel(_at_)ftc(_dot_)gov or to
Jonathan
Kraden at 202-326-2614.
--
Hector Santos, Santronics Software, Inc.
http://www.santronics.com