Is there a technical solution to SPAM?

Thu Jul 31 01:23:14 UTC 2003

> Spammers are like roaches.  They are here to stay.  They are aggressive.
> They adapt.

spam is a drug, and spammers will do anything, anything at all, for a fix.

> We need to respond with a variety of mechanisms, preferably coordinated
> to maximize the aggregate effect.

i still disagree.  we need to call smtp a total loss and start over, from
the basic question: how can mutual consent be prerequisite to communication?

the difference between spam and ddos is a matter of statefulness -- but the
motives for sending it are essentially the same: asymmetric benefit to the
sender, and without consent of the recipients.

watching the growth of the anti-ddos and anti-spam industries makes the
internet look like a grade school science fair project run amok.
-- 
Paul Vixie