Re: Spam

mark@unicorn.com
Thu, 4 Feb 1999 10:25:07 -0800 (PST)

NetSurfer [netsurf@sersol.com] wrote:
>The spammers killed usenet and will kill email itself if they are not
>stopped. And if all you do is delete it, you are helping them do so.

How strange. I read Usenet almost every day, so I can't quite understand how the spammers have killed it; in fact I rarely see any spam ad in there these days. One reason for that is that rather than arguing for pointless laws, people went out and started cancelling the spams. Technical solutions to technical problems.

>"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing."

Indeed. That's why us good men are so concerned about you evil anti-spam freaks who don't seem to have a clue as to the effects of your proposed laws on non-spammers. You want to sacrifice our freedom and privacy for your supposed safety. We don't want that.

You cannot stop spam with laws unless those laws are globally enforced and all traces of Internet privacy is eliminated. That means no anonymity, no encryption, and ID checks before anyone is allowed on the Net. That is evil, and you and Mike and the other anti-spam freaks are the worst threat to freedom on the Net today.

I can only assume that aliens have kidnapped Mike and replaced him with a government-loving fascist clone, because he's usually far more sensible than he has been recently.

Mark