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UK To Hold Public Enquiry On Spam
feepcreature writes "Is something going to be done about email spam at last? In the UK, the All Party Parliamentary Internet Group is to hold a public enquiry into spam. These politicians seem to understand the scale of the spam problem, and they are considering a new global level organization to deal with the Internet, as well as new laws, inter-government action and technical solutions.
But will more international bodies help? Would laws work?"
As if they ever had a choice...
Consensus in Aristocratic and Confucian Social Roles:
Ethical relations between the citizen and the society
Harmony throughout social and political strata is a main concern in many traditions and ethical systems throughout the world. Its capture on the intellectual and layperson can be understood in its immediate relevance. How ought one behave within society, and through what scope? What benefits would compliance entail, and what reciprocal action could one receive? Questions such as these illustrate underlying thoughts and ideas people have towards relationships between the individual and the society. In western ideas, it is between citizen and the populous, and to some extent, heaven itself. In eastern traditions, it is the interaction between the individual and the cosmos. Strikingly similar, this paper intends to discuss parallels between eastern and western thoughts on such topics, and ultimately strengthen a developing ethical system based on concessions between the two theories. In developing such a theory, one may hope that, in a practical sense, it may find expedient application in the modern world.
Aristotle believed in an ethical system of virtue, that proper action is initiated only due to the agent being ethical. In addition, Aristotle believed in actions being judged as fair or unfair based on his concept of Justice, in which one's action toward another is judged just/unjust by means of an Aristocratic proportion of merit. The connection, Aristotle posits, between the two concepts is that just actions are a result of the practice of perfect virtue. Aristotle states that a virtuous man and a keeper of the law is just. Thus Aristotle places an appropriate scope of Justice and Virtue in that there is a context of law in considering just and unjust actions. It is important to point out that by law, one can include legislature as well as natural/social laws. Therefore, the context of law may be synonymous with a context of society. Concluding from a previous essay, justice follows from an inclination to be virtuous and corresponding duties, within an appropriate social backdrop, the social Context. Note that there is no threat to dissolving into a relativistic system, as the system is objectively supported by a priori virtues as well as corresponding duties.
A student of Confucianism should immediately draw parallels between this Aristocratic Context and the teachings of Confucius and later disciples. Confucius advocates the idea of jen, virtue of humanness, to be the standard of all ethical behavior. In fact, Confucius believes jen to be the "perfect virtue," from which other virtues take shape. Through this and yi, which one may interpret as ethical principles of action, one may accomplish moral behavior, a ritualistic mode of interaction with others known as li. Accomplishing li, via jen and yi, an individual effects the social strata, ultimately dismissing the entropy of the cosmos. Structured around the people and within these strata, Confucius details the construction of a Jen-Government, lead by kingly figures, promoting and honoring jen, yi and li within individuals and their actions. The effective mark of the individual on his social environment is detailed within both the Aristocratic theory and Confucian tradition, and through an examination of the parallel between the Aristocratic Context and Confucian Jen-Government, a harmonious fusion can be determined, and applied nicely to the modern world.
In his teachings, Confucius detailed the concept of jen as perfect virtue, or the virtue of humanness. Far from detailing a idealist stance, Confucius believed that in the attempt to become like that which is superior, one initiates a cycle of jen based virtues, a similar note to Aristotle's habituation of virtue. Also similar to western virtue ethics is Confucius's identification of the inherent goodness of the mean path. The Confucian Doctrine of the Mean details the good of the middle way, stating,
"Perfect is the virtue which is according to the mean. They have
oooh so much anger so much hate so much beef
A/S/L
you free friday night ?
It makes you fat. Eat Cheerioatse instead!
Microsoft, polite and eloquent as ever. Way to go! I bet this tool does not even know what expedia looks like if you try it with javascript switched off.
The tax thing is bad, but requring that any email have a valid return address would be nice for reverse spamming. I've been known to send many copies of huge binaries to people who won't quit spamming me.
:)
Now allowing me, the receiver of spam, to charge the spammer $0.01 for every piece I receive could work.
For example I get spam from that idiot in Africa who wants me to transfer $1 million dollars to some bank account. I hit reply, and say "you owe me a penny. Feel free to transfer it to my paypal account or alternatively you can send me a check."
If you opted for them to send you a check it would cost them probably close to $0.50/email for anyone who requested the penny. Someone who sends millions of emails simply couldn't afford it. Someone who sends just a few, i.e. targets their audience better would be better off, and hell you might even begin to enjoy receiving spam. Even if you opted for the paypal transfer though spamming could become very expensive for them.
This could all work in conjuction with an international spammer registry. You would have to be licensed to spam, provide return addresses, and sign a contract, which would be obligate you to pay the penny in a timely manner upon request.
None of this works without a valid return address though.
-Craig.