This brings up an interesting point. If you were to ask a truly intelligent computer "Are you a computer?", it should reply "Yes, I am a computer", thereby failing the Turing test.
I guess a solution would be to automatically whitelist any address you've sent an email to, if only for 1 hour.
One problem with your solution is that it ignores the fact that spammers are very adaptable. Whenever there is a loophole, they find a way to sneak through it. The loophole in this case would be to set up the spam so that it resends after receiving your "request for money" message, thus getting through because it is whitelisted for an hour.
Any solution that must be able to allow an unknown person to contact you, and not allow a spammer, who often has as much information about you as your email contacts, is very difficult to implement.
But if you come up with a solution that works, let me know, and I'll start coding the spammer's workaround. (j/k)
At least with TV and radio there's a transaction of sorts
I wonder if the spam system will ever shift over to this type of system. Your service provider would sell email ad space in your mailbox to advertisers as a means of offsetting their costs. You get cheaper service, and advertisers get seen. For those who want to pay a premium, they can get no-ad mail for a higher cost.
Although this is the system for a select few email providers (particularly free web-based ones), I have yet to see it among non-webmail email providers.
Slashdot Mirror
I can't wait to get an E-book that I can read, but can't read aloud. That would be awesome technology.
This brings up an interesting point. If you were to ask a truly intelligent computer "Are you a computer?", it should reply "Yes, I am a computer", thereby failing the Turing test.
I guess a solution would be to automatically whitelist any address you've sent an email to, if only for 1 hour.
One problem with your solution is that it ignores the fact that spammers are very adaptable. Whenever there is a loophole, they find a way to sneak through it. The loophole in this case would be to set up the spam so that it resends after receiving your "request for money" message, thus getting through because it is whitelisted for an hour.
Any solution that must be able to allow an unknown person to contact you, and not allow a spammer, who often has as much information about you as your email contacts, is very difficult to implement.
But if you come up with a solution that works, let me know, and I'll start coding the spammer's workaround. (j/k)
At least with TV and radio there's a transaction of sorts
I wonder if the spam system will ever shift over to this type of system. Your service provider would sell email ad space in your mailbox to advertisers as a means of offsetting their costs. You get cheaper service, and advertisers get seen. For those who want to pay a premium, they can get no-ad mail for a higher cost.
Although this is the system for a select few email providers (particularly free web-based ones), I have yet to see it among non-webmail email providers.