Re[2]: Why Spam is a problem

[Richard Welty <rwelty at averillpark.net>]

On Thu, 15 Aug 2002 14:34:03 -0700 Fred Baker <fred at cisco.com> wrote:

> At 12:30 PM 8/15/2002 -0500, Eric A. Hall wrote:
> >The root problem is social.

> the root problem is indeed social, but I don't think we need laws on the 
> books to provide technical work-arounds.

moreover, i think that lawmakers might well treat technical guidance from
the IETF with some respect. a number of the legislation proposals that have
been floated in congress contained language referring to potential
standards that would mostly likely come from the IETF.

> If we want to, for example,
> have 
> white-list people (people who are subscribers to the mailing list, or 
> people who work for our company, or people to whom we have sent the 
> appropriate goober in the past so they can now present it) present a 
> credential and in our own instance of a mailer process treat peers that 
> don't present the credential differently (such as r-e-a-l s-l-o-w-l-y), 
> that doesn't require a law, it merely requires the appropriate technical 
> specification and implementation.

additionally, there are mechanisms in the IETF like information and BCP
RFCs that might be useful.

an Informational RFC might be used to present technical and/or operational
issues relating to spam issues (e.g., my suggestion of an informational RFC
on Requirements for Effective Opt Out systems), and explicitly list things
that will likely fail (for example, unless use of a centralized opt-out
list is mandated, it will be of no value.)

a BCP RFC on mailing list management practices would be another example
where things that the old hands all know can be articulated (for example,
that confirmed opt in works best, that bounce management is important, and
that conflict resolution procedures must exist and be effective where
someone on a mailing list is having issues with the list owner.)

richard
--
Richard Welty                                         rwelty at averillpark.net
Averill Park Networking                                         518-573-7592
              Unix, Linux, IP Network Engineering, Security