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Re: email and spam (was: Re: namedroppers, continued)

2003-01-15 19:23:02
John,

Before someone makes suggestions about the magic bullet that will solve
spam problems, they should at least familiarize themselves with the
rather interesting range of startup company approaches to handling the
problem.  Everything ranging from keyword filtering by a commercial
version of spamassassin, to patenting a haiku.

And they should become familiar with the public policy and politics
debates on the topic.

This is a multifaceted problem, including the minor fact that people's
definition of "spam" is highly variable.  At this stage it appears clear
that no single magic bullet is possible and that we should start viewing
spam the way we view roaches.  We don't like them.  They are bad.  We do
a range of things to get rid of them.  It all helps.  But we do not
eliminate them.  We simply reduce them to a tolerable level.

d/

Tuesday, January 7, 2003, 3:22:06 PM, you wrote:
John> Almost all of the measures you have suggested have serious
John> side-effects or critical prerequisites.  In the last analysis,
John> most of us would rather put up with a little spam than pay the
John> prices involved.  Others are sufficiently fed up with spam that
John> they are willing to consider some very radical changes to how we
John> use email.  But, regardless of how that comes out, the decisions
John> have been fairly explicit: people have thought of your
John> suggestions, and others, and their impact, and have made fairly
John> explicit decisions about preferences.  My comment about X.400 of
John> a few weeks ago was intended to address those issues, but
John> apparently made a reference too far in the past, or too subtle,
John> for some of the people who have been participating in the
John> discussion.


d/
-- 
 Dave <mailto:dhc2(_at_)dcrocker(_dot_)net>
 Brandenburg InternetWorking <http://www.brandenburg.com>
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