[7166] in North American Network Operators' Group
Re: Suggestion for NANOG Meeting
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Barry Shein)
Mon Jan 20 18:58:47 1997
Date: Mon, 20 Jan 1997 15:05:44 -0500
From: Barry Shein <bzs@world.std.com>
To: "Howard C. Berkowitz" <hcb@clark.net>
Cc: David Schwartz <davids@wiznet.net>, Mike Leber <mleber@he.net>,
"Eric D. Madison" <madison@queber.acsi.net>,
Avi Freedman <freedman@netaxs.com>, nanog@merit.edu
In-Reply-To: <v03007831af09739c6fc1@[168.143.1.215]>
The shortest path to controlling spam would be creating a legally
enforceable right for ISPs to charge and collect a fee on spammers,
preferably based on volume.
If they had to pay for it, even a few cents per message, they wouldn't
do it, or wouldn't do it quite so voraciously, and they couldn't make
it so superficially attractive by selling a million msgs sent for $75
or whatever it is they're charging. And hiding one's identity would
become a criminal fraud.
We have, inadvertantly, given these spammers a (nearly) free method to
print money by re-selling our resources for no remuneration for those
valuable (to them) resources.
I find it hard to believe that a court could not understand that and
see the inherent problem being created.
The ``Achilles heel'' of spam is that in order for it to have any
effect the benefactor (i.e., advertiser) must be traceable, so that
the targetted customer can purchase the product. Obviously malicious
or aberrant cases exist (eg, the racist spam we saw last year), but by
and large exploiting this fact and pursuing a reasonable charge for
spam would add a dose of reality to the current situation.
Something to worry about is the increasing occurrance of spams
advertising explicit sexual materials in explicit language being sent
indiscriminately.
I've noticed a distinct rise in this in the past few weeks, and
complaints about it from my customers, and I fear that this is going
to force the issue in a way that we won't like if we don't take some
leadership.
--
-Barry Shein
Software Tool & Die | bzs@world.std.com | http://www.std.com
Purveyors to the Trade | Voice: 617-739-0202 | Login: 617-739-WRLD
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