Simon,
I have repeatedly asserted that the current free SMTP service or
equivalent would be preserved. You could choose with any degree of
filtering you choose to accept postage free mail. You could choose to
only accept free mail or all free mail.
I frankly don't see random free mail as an important part of the internet
dynamic. People who who send email from work for personal perposes are
often violating published AUP, even if it is not enforced. They are often
using work time to do personal work. One of the 'hidden' costs of the
internet revolution which is likely to receive more focus over time. I
don't see any reason why protocol design should accomadate theft or
other violations of employer policies.
On Wed, 28 May 2003, S Woodside wrote:
On Wednesday, May 28, 2003, at 01:42 PM, David Morris wrote:
In the USA today, it costs $.37 to send a physical mail. I don't think
it
unreasonable for someone sending me mail to pay a similar fee and
conversely for me to pay such a fee for each of my posts to the IETF
list,
even though I would expect the list to use a free channel to distribute
the result.
Really? I email with people who would not be able to afford $.37 to
send me an email. (They live developing nations.)
I don't believe there is any right to free mail or email service so I
don't see a reason to be overly concerned that a user of a community
computer can't send free email.
But consider that the internet today is based on widely available free
email. There would be major changes to the whole email dynamic if that
changed. Besides people who have different economics at work, Another
You mean, no more spam? You mean the employers will have a better return
on their investment in payroll? You mean more thought before sticking ones
foot in the electronic mouth?
The point of this proposal is to change the dynamic of email by
associating a small but significant cost with sending mail to folks with
whom one has no established relationship.
that comes to mind is people who use email interfaces to websites,
maybe because they're firewalled at work, or they can only use a
store-and-forward system if they on a sufficiently remote / slow link
(in a very remote area, this could include researchers as well as
people who simply live in a very rural place).
They have bigger problems than a charge for email, but if the web site
email server chooses, it can accept free email ... qed ... no problem.
Dave Morris