How to Kill Spam Without the State

WaxParadigm writes "The Colorado Freedom Report, an online libertarian publication in Colorado, has an article today about How to Kill Spam Without the State. Will our heavy-handed attempts to stop spam through legislation have the outcome we desire?" The article advocates putting the burden on the end user, saying "We must also take personal responsibility to kill spam. We can't pretend the politicians will do it for us. Their incentive is to develop a cute re-election flyer, not solve the problem. If you're still tempted by the political approach, ask yourself one simple question: who is more technologically savvy, your average spammer or your average politician? There are steps each of us can take to kill spam, and to help foster a culture that encourages spam killing." While this forgets the onus of spam on the ISP and telco companies, it should well be part of a multi-tiered plan against spam.

Comments

Re:Again

[madfgurtbn]

(they'll just send the spam from another country you idiots!).

Why don't people get this? It seems pretty simple to me.

I think most anti-spam efforts cause more harm than good. The reason we get spam is because it is profitable. Antispam measures such as blackholing only raise the bar high enough to keep out the laziest of spammers thus making it more profitable for the most sleazy and organized spammers.

If it were SO EASY to send spam that anyone could do it, it would drive out the serious players and leave only amateurs, who are easily dealt with--Bayesian filters, etc.

All the blood, sweat, and tears that have gone into anti-spam efforts have had NO EFFECT. I still get dozens of spams every week. I just don't have to see them thanks to Bayesian Filtering.

The solution to the spam problem is not more rules and regulations by ISP's and governments. The solution is economic. If professional spamming is not profitable, then there will be no professional spammmers.