Ask ISP Owner Barry Shein About the Spam Wars

Spam sucks. But it's worse for ISPs than for the rest of us, because they get bounces and complaints and other behind-the-scenes spam-caused messes the rest of us don't see. AOL talks of spam as "public enemy number one." Barry Shein, who started (and still runs) the world's first full-service dialup ISP, likens spammers to organized criminals, and calls spam "an organized, vicious, sociopathic thing" in this article, which spurred an interesting Slashdot discussion. So what should we do about spam? Ask Barry. One question per post, please. We'll post his answers to 10 of the highest-moderated questions sometime in the next week or so.

Comments

What's your e-mail address?

[TedCheshireAcad]

What is your e-mail address? I promise I will not sell it to third parties.

Kill 'em all....

[Lord_Slepnir]

If you could meet a spammer, what would you say? What would you do? What caliber would you use? Would you want someone to do it for you? Is $10,000 a head too much?

Fine, I'll ask

[swingkid]

Would you like to consolidate your student loans while watching my 18 year old roomate take a shower, and then purchase some long distance phone cards?

Re:Fine, I'll ask

[gowen]

I'd love to, but I'm not feeling youthful at the moment, I need to go to the store for inkjet refills, and I've a terrible feeling my penis isn't long enough to satisfy her.

Actually, only one of the above is true :(