the IETF debated whether it should do anything about spam and chose "no"
I used to think this was the right thing, but I've changed my mind.
The reason is [...]
...
The *only* thing that's going to stop spam is [...]
i elipsed the specifics because at this level it doesn't matter. what the
ietf has to decide is whether there is protocol work to be done in this area.
i believe there is. smtp's design assumptions don't apply to a mixed use
environment where the user base is larger than a few hundred researchers
who can be depended upon not to overgraze the commons.
charging for email is one oft-heard proposal. my own preference is for a
trusted-introducer model similar in concept to pgp but more market-ready
(this has been called the "gated community" approach.)
but until iab/iesg hear a concrete wg proposal, this isn't protocol work,
and the ietf will have no official position on it one way or the other.
as has been shown several times, this isn't really approachable as a direct
proprietary/commercial effort, even though there's a lot of money to be
made as an agent in an open standards approach like my trusted-introducer
idea.
the ietf leadership seems overcommitted wrt a new effort of this magnitude.
--
Paul Vixie