The spammers are back!

Which government has authority over a global network?

And one of the 3 most famous lies is "I'm from the government and I am here to help!"

No. What there was was rules the goc laid down that effectiviely let you spam if you met certian (VERY LOOSE) criteria.

Nothing about usenet though.

I've beeb buggig lawyer friends for years to "do something" but the problem is any scenario anybody thinks up also hinders legitimate email.

What country are you in? Break one of your contries laws on the internet then watch what happens.

My understanding is this:-

Most spam still emanates from US-based spammers (200 in Florida or something like that, almost all known) and Congress has specifically refused to take action. The direct mail lobby is dead against it.

I suppose it is difficult to distinguish between genuine direct mass mail and spam. Still, the US government could force an opt-in clause instead of an opt-out one, which only leads to people validating their e-mail addresses...

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

Correct.

"Hi, I saw you have a broken fuel distributor and I have one here for $20 you can have, they're $700 new"

That's unsolicited commercial email - spam. You want to make laws against that?

(No I don't really have a $20 fuel distribtor)

I couldn't agree with you more.

There is already an opt-out option for phone calls from Telemarketers and commercial Faxes (mostly Mortgage and Real Estate vendors) which has been relatively effective.

Spammers have been smart enough to bypass filters by randomly changing Subject, Sender and ISPs. Nothing seems to work, except having multiple e-mail accounts and using them judiciously when giving them out to family and friends.

I learned that even those websites offering to get you off mailing lists are nothing but e-mail-address harvesting sites.

The best quick-fix would be the requirement for people to opt in to mail, as is mandatory in some European countries. Even with that, though, spammers would find a way of claiming one had opted in, but it might get rid of some junk.

Telephone and fax pests are much easier to deal with, of course.

DAS

The best quick fix is death by torture.

Do some research and stop blabbering nonsense.

Which bit is nonsense, Wise-Guy?

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling

Added quoted nonsense here.

The US is SPAM king. That much is true. 200? LOL.

This is BS. US already has laws about what constitutes illegal UCE.

Junk mail is legal here, along with blasphemous cartoons.

Not really. Illegal SPAM uses forged headers or is illegally sent through an unknowing parties open relay mail server. If it has a legit subject and from-path it's legal here.

Either way has major problems. We don't need or want the government regulating the internet here, thanks.

I think you are working on suppositions and I would not fling about descriptions so readily. Do you have facts to back uo that assertion?

There not as many big spammers as you think. It's just that the top lot are very prolific.

Thus spake my ISP at one stage (and this ISP is a major player).

As regards spam regulation, Congress could take more action -- without regulating the internet -- but does not for reasons already stated. I would guess the opt-in clause has fewer problems than an opt-out one.

Aside from one or two high-profile cases, how many prosecutions have there been? Maybe that's more a case of will to do something.

DAS

For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling