Email Not for Free?
by Jason Latona
I came across a story on CNN today: It was about ways to control Spam, and the two methods it mentioned as supported by major entities in the computer world are as follows:
1. Require email senders to complete a 10 second puzzle for each email sent.
Presumably, this is a way to force you to stare at ads for a given period of time. It might also be an attempt to distinguish humans from those tricky automated mail-bots, assuming you had to enter a correct response to whatever inane puzzle you are presented with.
My thoughts:
- If incorrect answers result in you being blocked from sending your mail, there will be immense frustration due to typos and, well, abundant stupidity among our fellow homo sapiens.
- The entire advantage of email is speed and convenience. In a world of upgrades and performance enhancements, slowing the process of sending an email is contrary to logic.
My conclusion:
Complicating the process is an unintelligent thought and a step in the wrong direction.
2. Charge a small fee, possibly a fraction of a cent, for each email sent.
Imagine how you'd feel if, in order to send a letter through the US Postal Service, you had to not only purchase a stamp to place on each envelope but also had to spend $20-$40 a month as a flat rate whether or not you sent any letters at all? That is essentially what would be happening if you paid per email. Every single dialup, DSL and cable Internet provider allows you AT LEAST one email account as part of your monthly bill; it's not a freebie account such as Yahoo! and the like provide.
It's a paid service. The plan intends that because some corporations or individuals choose to abuse the email system, you would have to pay twice for each email you send.
My thoughts:
- Bill Gates supports this. Bill Gates is a jackass who has absolutely outlived his usefulness. When anyone is as wealthy as he, they should in no way have anything to do with deciding what the average person should have to pay - for anything, any reason. He is jaded beyond what any normal human could ever conceive, and should find some other more useful ways to spend his time and wealth.
- Charging for email would invite 'hackers' to find creative ways to circumvent paying, such as spoofing accounts etc.
My conclusion:
A real solution needs to be found that actually solves the problem WITHOUT penalizing innocent computer users seeking to send legitimate email.
New regulations making Spam illegal for those requesting not to receive unsolicited emails might be helpful.
Or what about an email client, that only allows email from people in your own address book into your inbox? The rest of the email goes into a Spam folder that you can choose to browse for true email if you so desire.
Email is one of the greatest conveniences ever conceived. The entire concept of email is that it is fast and free; taking that away changes it into something else entirely. These 'solutions' are rooted in greed and are a step in the wrong direction. I foresee people finding other ways to communicate should that happen - even at rates less than 1-cent per message.
There are more intelligent ways of dealing with Spam. I recommend contacting the FCC and telling them what you think!