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Microsoft and the SPAM Game

Posted by krow on from the if-only-spam-asssassin-caught-everything dept.

The Seattle Times reported a while ago that Microsoft is pushing for Washington State Senate Bill 5734 which will overturn most of Washington State's laws that specify monetary penalties for companies who send out spam. This will completely exempt ISPs from current Washington spam laws, which Microsoft just happens to be. It seems that they are jumping the gun a bit. They are having a company named Digital Impact (save that address for you spam filters) send the email for them. Thankfully I live in Seattle so maybe I can collect an easy $500 before Microsoft guts the current law.

3 of 252 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Yay! (sarcasm doesn't carry well on subject lin by nfg05 · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Monopolistic practices happen, all the time, the companies gets reined in by the gov't. But you don't see the rhetoric when people talk about cable companies, phone companies, power companies, etc., only Microsoft. Curious...
    Microsoft doesn't take ALL the heat around here
    And the prequel

    Monopolies, no matter who has them, are bad. It doesn't matter who the company is or what they control.
    (scroll down a bit in the discussions for the "rhetoric" and if I really cared, I'd look up examples for cable companies and power companies too, but I don't :p)
  2. Re:It's all the other spam... by gizmonic · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Hey, more power to the idea of a new system requiring authentication for sending mail. I am all for that. But how do you stop throw away accounts? People have a hard enough time with waiting periods for guns. Do you propose a waiting period for out-going mail?

    "Yes, sir, here is your brand new shiny internet account. However, you can't send mail or post to usenet until the 30 day waiting period is up and you've passed our background checks."

    Yeah, that'll fly. Hmmm? Maybe a new slashdot poll? How long would slashdotters be willing to wait before being allowed to send mail on a new net account as a measure to fight spam? In all seriousness, I'd actually like to know the answer to that one... I'd guess it's pretty low, but I might be wrong. I've been wrong before. On occasion. :)

    --
    WWJD?
    JWRTFM!
  3. I was proxy spammed by MS by Y2K+is+bogus · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I bought one of those MSN Companion puters from Tiger direct a year ago. I signed up for the MSN service (free 6mo) to play with the puter before I nuked the OS. I signed up as "ipaqheat@msn.com". This is not an address that was published, as I have never used it. Within a week of signing up I had a SPAM in the mailbox. The way I see it, Microsoft had to sell my information to a spammer for that to happen. I hold them responsible for it. I've since canceled the account.