Slashdot Mirror
TrustE Launches Trusted Spammer Program
Silverhammer writes: "InfoWorld is reporting that such luminaries as TRUSTe, ePrivacy Group, MSN, and DoubleClick are getting together to develop a "trusted senders" program to certify "commercial email" and "elevate" it above ISPs' and end users' spam filters. Why, you ask? Because they believe it's actually our fear of fraud that's hurting their response rates. Apparently all that stuff about invasion of privacy and theft of resources is just a big misunderstanding..." The Infoworld story linked above has the best information about this seal program, but CNet has another story including a quote forecasting 1400 pieces of spam per person per day in five years. Update: 01/31 17:02 GMT by M : The FTC is announcing a crackdown on spam.
How can any thief be trusted? How can any vandal be trusted?
Spam is theft. Never forget that. Sending email to someone requires the use of resources which that person legitimately owns or controls, and you do not. Therefore, if you are habitually sending email to people who do not want it, you are appropriating resources to which you have no right. That's stealing.
It doesn't matter if the commercial offers made in a spam message are themselves legitimate or if they are fraudulent. A legitimate advertisement wrapped around a brick and thrown through my window is just as offensive to my rights as a fraudulent advertisement delivered in the same way.
Opposing spam is not about opposing commerce, or "commercialization of the Net", or the free market. It is about defending private property from trespass and theft -- and defending a useful service (the email facility) from its ruination. For if spamming is "legitimized" by crooks such as these, the email facility as we know it is not long for this world.