> From: Dean Anderson <dean(_at_)av8(_dot_)com>
> it is the case that _protocols_ can do nothing about spam. So, there is
> nothing for the IETF to do
Not necessarily so.
First, if people agree that charging for email is needed, or some equally
significant change (and clearly the existing SMTP-based email system is an
open door for spam, and always will be), then that means a new protocol,
which the IETF will have to design.
Moreover, in the public policy debate that is going on now, policy makers
need to know what technical options are avaiable as they look at the spectrum
of possible solutions (legal, technical, etc). The IETF has a role to play
there, too.
Noel