I don't believe that this spam (or any) is at all like putting and ad
in a newspaper.
 
   I see  it as sending  a mailing to a  mailing list, which  is exactly
what it is.
 
   If I buy a mailing list from  a company, and send mail to everyone on
that list, then I  am sending it to you, personally.   If I were outside
of the net world, I would buy a mailing list (or obtain one at no cost),
and  then send  you a  piece of  mail.  Let's  assume it  was an  ad for
something (the most common type, though it  could just as well not be an
ad).  Since each thing  I send costs me some money (say,  up to 32 cents
in postage in the  USA), I would naturally want to  target those where I
had the best chance of a response.
 
   So, let's say  I am in the  business of real estate.   I would target
home owners.   If I were in  to chemicals for large  businesses, I would
target those people who might use it.  It I were a conservative, I would
target those who I might get to vote for me (I am not, thank God!).
 
   Now, in  order to get  these lists, I  would have (short  of stealing
them)  to pay  someone for  them  or at  very  least make  some sort  of
agreement for them.  Many companies sell  their lists to make some extra
money.  Some ask you  (give you the option) not to be  on the lists they
sell (or "Make  Available") to others, some don't.  I  don't think there
is a law about it per se, but many companies want you to feel respected,
so they ask you (it also  avoids potential trouble for them).  What they
really are  selling is the work  they have done, which  is twofold: they
have  put your  name in  the computer  and they  have identified  you as
having an interest in some category.  They may even have more info: your
age, your buying habits, etc...  .
 
   Now, along  comes the net.   We do the  same thing.  We  make mailing
lists based upon some common interest.  But, we are different.  For many
reasons, we make these lists freely available to anyone to use or abuse.
Very  few lists  keep  the list  of  people  out of  the  view of  their
subscribers.  So, your average terrorist, Christian Coalition worker, or
C&S spammer who doesn't know about  list etiquette (but does know how to
forge  Approved: headers  :-)  ) can,  for free,  and  with very  little
effort, target the group they want to with whatever they want.
 
   And we let them do it.  And we whine and complain!
 
   I don't like spamming, and I am very much against it.
 
   However, legal action is really very much a waste of time and will do
nothing, in the end.
 
   The first thing to do it to clean up our own act.  We need to make it
very much  more difficult for these  people to operate while  making the
system more formal and with someone to look after the system.
 
   First, the system:  we need to have  a body that will  look after the
system  and put  rules in  place.   These rules  should be  specifically
non-biased and non-judgemental.  The purpose is not to censor, but is to
protect the system from abuse by those  who would bog it down with spams
and other  negative things like  a zillion  posts to blitz  a newsgroup.
This group can also be empowered to  bring legal action on behalf of the
sites that it represents.  It should also put into place agreements with
and between sites that hold that the  people in charge of the sites must
act  upon  information given  it  by  the body  so  that  the system  is
protected from spams.   This would avoid situations of  people saying "I
don't care".
 
   Next, this body should formulate rules for using the system that each
site would  be required  to tell  its users  about.  Again,  subjects or
posts are not to be censored.  This is just aimed at spammers.
 
   The body  would have in  its charter that the  system is not  a place
where items are  censored, and the body would be  prohibited from making
rules that have such an effect.
 
   Lastly, the body would put into  place a clear statement of the goals
and rules of the system, including etiquette and responsibility to guide
people in their use of the system.
 
   While I believe  the system should include  newsgroups, starting with
listserv lists is a good place.
 
   Folks, we also need to make it  harder for people to spam lists.  One
way would be to  require people to be signed up to the  list in order to
post, so at least it will discourage  the lazy people (90%+ of those who
spam) and protect our lists.
 
   This also requires more from us.  We  will have to ensure that all of
the addresses for people on the list  are the ones that they are posting
from.  Generally, this  would not be a  problem, but it will  be in some
cases.  Also, perhaps  a mod to listserv would be  needed as some people
post from clusters, and their login machine can change.  So some sort of
option to allow  any machine in a  domain to post where there  is a same
userid  in the  otherwise same  domain.  This  would probably  be useful
anyway.
 
   Ok, that's part I open for discussion: can we talk?  :-)
 
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**  Geert K. Marien : [log in to unmask]  (Bitnet: GKMQC@PUCC)  **
**   ListOwner: AIRLINE, NODEINFO, RAILROAD, STAMPS, The INDIA List   **
**    (All contents are my own opinions - unless otherwise stated)    **
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