Paul writes:
1. does the ietf as a community generally believe
that provable mutual consent between a sender and
recipient is an achievable (technically) and
desireable (by the global user base) goal?
It's certainly achievable technically, since other protocols already do it.
I don't see it as desirable, though, since it would generate more overhead
than spam does, and it would significantly slow and impede e-mail
communication overall. Additionally, it might take decades for everyone on
the Internet to adopt it, and those who did not would eventually be at a
disadvantage, even if they were not spammers.
2. if #1, does this same community believe #1 can be
accomplished by means of negative pressure (bayesian,
dcc, blackhole lists, hashcash, etc) on the current
e-mail system (smtp, rfc822, mime)?
No.
3. if !#2, then does this same community have any interest
in being a creative, ambitious force that brings this
functionality to the masses, or should this work be
pursued independently/elsewhere?
Not applicable, given the answer to #2.