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Fighting Spam With A 17th Century Law

Posted by Hemos on from the look-to-the-past-for-our-current-tools dept.

A reader writes "Here is an interesting article which describes how a law from the year 1610 could make Spam illegal in Australia. The same story in german can be found here." Actually, since the law stems from King James I (the VI, if you are Scottish), as such, could be held British Commonwealth wide.

3 of 334 comments (clear)

  1. Can't we do better? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Why only go back 400 years? Let's fight spam with the Magna Carta:

    All Merchants (if they were not openly prohibited before) shall have their safe and sure Conduct to depart out of England, to come into England, to tarry in, and go through England, as well by Land as by Water, to buy and sell without any manner of evil Tolts, by the old and rightful Customs, except in Time of War.

    See, spammers are merchants selling stuff, but not by the old and rightful Customs, in peacetime. It works, and the stretch is... just as rubbery.

    Bring some 1297 smack down on em. It should be just as effective.

    1. Re:Can't we do better? by dgroskind · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Bring some 1297 smack down on em.

      What about some 1780 BC? Hammurabi may well have been anticipating spam in his Code:
      If a shepherd, without the permission of the owner of the field, and without the knowledge of the owner of the sheep, lets the sheep into a field to graze, then the owner of the field shall harvest his crop, and the shepherd, who had pastured his flock there without permission of the owner of the field, shall pay to the owner twenty gur of corn for every ten gan.

      And he was clearly thinking of sys admins who left open email relays when he decreed:
      If any one be too lazy to keep his dam in proper condition, and does not so keep it; if then the dam break and all the fields be flooded, then shall he in whose dam the break occurred be sold for money, and the money shall replace the corn which he has caused to be ruined.

      "Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us." --Ecclesiastes, 2:9

  2. Attorney: yes by hawk · · Score: 5, Interesting
    I am an attorney, this is not legal advice. If you need legal advice, contact an attorney licensed in your juridiction.


    I've been suggesting this approach for years (but wihout the bungled reporting). When the spam enters your system, it exerts physical dominion over your chattels (the bits, the head mechanism, draws additional power, etc.). Trespass clearly applies, just as when some dolt lifts you windshield wiper to insert an ad.


    The reporting is a bit mish-mashed, though: Common Law comes from the courts, yet it reports trespass as coming from a particular king (and it would have to have been a king *and* parliament).


    I've always assumed trespass to chattels to be Common Law, not a statute, but I'm not willing to spend a half a day looking it up . . . my guess is that the seminal cases in the courts date to his reign, and possibly were decided by the high court known as "the King's Bench," which followed him about England hearing cases & appeals . . .


    hawk, esq.