How do you stop outgoing spam?

Thu Sep 12 00:37:33 UTC 2002

On Wed, Sep 11, 2002 at 11:56:32PM +0200, Brad Knowles wrote:
>
> 	There are also cards which don't properly authorize immediately, 
> but the other way -- they are valid, the person presenting it really 
> is the legal owner, there is plenty of available credit, but when you 
> try to place a charge or a hold, it is refused.  I have another card 
> like this myself.
> 
> 	As a CyberCafe operator, how do you deal with a situation where 
> someone has only one card and it won't authorize?

Depends on the relative costs. See below.

> > If customers don't want to use charge cards, they can require
> > a large cash deposit up-front,
> 
> 	How large?  How far are you willing to go while you keep losing 
> 	business?

That depends - how long will you bet able to get an upstream which doesn't
cancel your service for failure to deal with the problem? That, more than
anything, is the opposite pressure cost - if it costs these places less
to allow spam than to prohibit it, because nobody whacks them with an AUP
saying "your efforts are insufficient", well, they're a business - they'll
go with what's cheaper.

> >                                just like the video rental
> > stores do if you try to get a membership without a charge card.
> 
> 	Really?  I've never seen that kind of behaviour here.

All the time, around here.

Summary: as with every other natural resource, 'the commons' are now held
under market rule. If it turns a profit to spoil them, it will end up
happening. The question is how to make it more costly to permit spam than
to deny it.

And on that note, it's the same old tune, and is no longer operational.
-- 
***************************************************************************
Joel Baker                           System Administrator - lightbearer.com
lucifer at lightbearer.com              http://users.lightbearer.com/lucifer/