A
>> The legal system taking over something that should be done by IETF.
>
> I don't know of anything that IETF can do about spam, either.
>
> As long as it's possible to e-mail messages and make more money from
> the handful of replies than it cost to send out the messages, spam will
> persist. Legal sanctions are fine, but there isn't really any way to
> track down the spammers in many cases, or they are out of legal reach.
> Kind of like someone sending junk mail with no return address from
> overseas.
I wrote my first-ever letter to congress yesterday, demanding a law that
protects the property rights of organizations over commercial speech and
allows for private civil enforcement (specifically an extension to the
TCPA). I also promised to help develop email technology which would
address the credibility issues, since that seems to be the popular
complaint against such an approach.
Everybody knows that we can't fix this through laws or technology alone
but we can fix it by balancing the two.
Well Eric I congratulate you on personally taking responsibility for a
first step. Where as the IETF is not in a good position instutionally do
something about SPAM .. the IETF and its individual members are certainly
the finest body of technical expertise on the subject.
For those of us that Live in the United States, unless we individually
write Congressmen and Senators .. explain who we are and what technical
expertise we bring to the subject , nothing will happen. I have seen this
time and time again on Internet related issues.
The Congress goes off into never never land because many of us individually
stay silent. These people in Congress are generally ignorant of the reality
of Internet Technology ..to most of them its still magic.
Contary to popular opinion, the US is actually a democracy which in modern
terms, unfortunately means the loudest voices often win. However I can
personally attest to the fact that many if not most Congressional and
Agency Staffers are overworked, underpaid and are generally delighted to
hear from technically competent folks that can give them informed opinions
without a axe to grind.
You can pick up the phone and call the offices of all the sponsors of the
various bills ask for their Legislative Aides , they direct the
Bills. Tell them what you think and why your personal technical background
gives you some claim to expertise in these matters...write Chariman Burris
of the FTC. The worst bill is coming out of Sen Conrad Burns office [D-MT]
but I know Sen Charlie Schumer office D-NY is directly looking for public
input.
Call the Staff's of both the US Senate and House Commerce committee and ask
for the staff member looking into SPAM issues and speak to them..
If you are close to the metro DC area offer to testify if possible...
I personally attended the FTC hearings on SPAM and there were only 2 other
people in the audience that had any connection to the IETF whatsoever. The
entire body of panelists were lawyers, vendors, spammers etc.
No one from the Internet Society was there BTW.
If each of us do nothing I can guarantee you the Congress will screw it up...
But the good news is some things do work .. the unsolicited fax legislation
in the 90 worked pretty well by permitting a private right of action
against the companies selling goods and services via SPAM ... the US
national Do Not Call list will go into effect in July/August which should
cut down on the annoying voice calls we all get at home.
As my distinguished colleague Dave Crocker has wisely said " You are
dealing with a Cockroach problem here. No one tool will solve the problem,
but several in concert may make the problem manageable."
Dave did I paraphrase you corectly?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Richard Shockey, Senior Manager, Strategic Technology Initiatives
NeuStar Inc.
46000 Center Oak Plaza - Sterling, VA 20166
Voice +1 571.434.5651 Cell : +1 703.593.2683, Fax: +1 815.333.1237
<mailto:richard(at)shockey.us> or <mailto:richard.shockey(at)neustar.biz>
<http://www.neustar.biz> ; <http://www.enum.org>
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