By Alex van den Bogaerdt sent on April 12, 2005 on behalf
of Gabriel Weinberg, a graduate student in the Technology
and Policy Program (TPP) at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT).
<snip>
Unfortunately, the author misses the boat in my view by not
simply defining spam as unrequested bulk e-mail. This has
been the accepted technical definition for some time.
See in particular:
Unsolicited Bulk Email: Definitions and Problems
http://www.imc.org/ube-def.html
The author does not site this paper.
Since the author is looking for feedback, I might suggest
she read:
Unsolicited Bulk Email: Definitions and Problems
http://www.imc.org/ube-def.html
Unsolicited Bulk Email: Mechanisms for Control
http://www.imc.org/ube-sol.html
How To Stop Spam
http://www.circleid.com/article/917_0_1_0_C/
She should also endeavour to speak with Carl Hutzler at AOL
who lead the charge in turning the situation around at
America Online.
Why do I say this? Content filtering, block lists and
e-mail authentication, along with sender certification and
reputation system are "band aids." They do nothing to stop
the initial sending of UBE, but rather attempt to control
behaviour afterwards.
UBE is online abuse. The best way to control abuse is
through network security, supported by strong law
enforcement and consumer education. Within this framework,
content filtering, block lists, email authentication, along
with sender certification and reputation systems can then
play a meaningful role.
My two cents worth.
John Glube
Toronto, Canada