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Australia To Fast-Track Anti-Spam Bill

Crypto Gnome writes "News Interactive is reporting that anti-spam legislation is being fast-forwarded by the Australian Federal Government. The proposed law will ban sending commercial emails without the recipient's prior consent and ban the use of email harvesting or list-generating software. Naturally, this will only directly impact local Australian spammers, but they're also hoping this will set a precedent for the International community." Banning list-generation software seems a bit heavy-handed, doesn't it?

16 of 243 comments (clear)

  1. Simpsons by CGP314 · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Equally, it is the one that will allow us, in the long term, to get back to the people who are spamming and tap them on the shoulder."

    Give them the boot!

    1. Re:Simpsons by parityerror · · Score: 2, Funny

      Maybe they could impose penalties such as publishing names, emails, and ip addresses on slashdot. We'll fix 'em up....

  2. Re:Heavy handed is about the norm... by Snoopy77 · · Score: 2, Funny

    I love it when Sen. Alston tries to come off as knowledgable about 'net stuff'. He has so obviously just asked his speechwriters what the latest buzzwords are and how they can be strung together to form a cohesive sentence.

    --
    "She's a West Texas girl, just like me" - G.W Bush Iraqis
  3. Re:It's only spam by TheOldFart · · Score: 4, Funny

    >> The way to fight spam is to build clever tools

    An ICBM comes to mind...

  4. List Generation Test by Ignis+Flatus · · Score: 3, Funny
    1. If your browser
    2. can display
    3. this list,
    4. then you will
    5. be breaking
    6. the law
    7. in Australia.
  5. Bye, bye grep... by flakac · · Score: 4, Funny

    Banning list-generation software seems a bit heavy-handed, doesn't it...

    Yep... don't know how our Australian friends are going to get by without grep.

  6. Re:Australia rules by CurlyG · · Score: 2, Funny

    J F Christ, are you living in an alternate universe or have those rose-coloured glasses just fused to your face?

    We are pathetic bitches. Yeah, it's a lovely country (as long as you're white, conservative and middle-class), but we have zero power in the world, zero say over our own future, and a "leader" who is hell bent on greasing up and bending over in front of the good old U! S! A! for a free trade agreement that will surely net us the kind of wonderful benefits that most of South America has been lucky enough to experience over the last decade or so.

    Dominate? You are kidding yourself. We manufacture jack shit. Despite having the tattered remenants of an exellent education system we have a business community that would have rejected every major technological advance in history as being too risky to invest in. We are going absolutely nowhere except towards our inevitable inclusion into the growing list of US vassal states.

    --
    You know they call 'em fingers but I've never seen 'em fing. Oh, there they go.
  7. Re:Heavy Handed? by Eurgg · · Score: 1, Funny

    Don't be silly... P2P software isn't used for pirating music... It's used for pirating music AND software!

  8. Re:It's only spam by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    Take a "Baby Names" book in your language of choice. Type in all the names. Then have your software send your message to each of those names.

    The problem is that babies don't use email... so your spam would be ineffective. You really must start with an "Adult Names" book :p

  9. Won't help. by penginkun · · Score: 2, Funny

    You can pass all the anti-spam legislation you like, but the vermin will dig even deeper into the woodwork to make it harder to find them.

    The only way there's ever going to be any progress in the fight against spam is by making any egregious violation punishable by summary execution.

    No, I'm not kidding. If every nation had such a law and actually enforced it things would improve instantly. Kill just ONE spammer and watch it all start to fade.

    Of course it'll never happen, but a man can dream, can't he? A man can dream.

  10. list-generation ?? by wah_wah_69 · · Score: 1, Funny

    "Banning list-generation software seems a bit heavy-handed, doesn't it?" All spammers will switch to tree-generation software and a new generation of more effcient spam will be born. (effcient at least on the spammers side)

    --
    And now for something completely different. A man with three buttocks!
  11. list-generation by xaoslaad · · Score: 0, Funny

    Banning list-generation software seems a bit heavy-handed, doesn't it?

    He's a SPAMMER! GET HIM!

  12. A heavy blow to the Lisp community by Brummund · · Score: 0, Funny

    Banning software generating lists. What's next? Banning lists generating software? A bad day to be a lisper!

  13. Re:Heavy Handed? by R.Caley · · Score: 1, Funny
    That's not spam, because we're contacting genuine potential customers.

    So it's not spam if everyone it is sent to either has a penis or knows someone who has, and so is a potential customer?

    These kind of lists are almost essential for promoting the slightly obscure services we provide

    I get spam all the time from nice ladies offering me some _really_ obscure services.

    --
    _O_
    .|<
    The named which can be named is not the true named
  14. Making laws... by t_allardyce · · Score: 1, Funny

    Banning list-generation software seems a bit heavy-handed, doesn't it?

    As usual the people making the laws seem to be making mistakes.

    Making laws is like making love (with a sheep) - you gotta cover every hole, but you still need to let it breathe!

    Ok im sorry about that, really i am, i will get help i promise.

    --
    This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
  15. we've solved the problem by swell · · Score: 2, Funny


    My homeowners association agrees unanimously that spam and porn are WRONG. We have passed strong legislation that will stop them dead.

    Additionally we have made it illegal for meteors to come within 100 miles of our planet.

    You may thank us at your leisure.

    --
    ...omphaloskepsis often...