Re: e-postage stamps, was Welcome to the new(ish) ASRG list

Hi, Chris

Slightly off track to the previous topic:
The primary issue I see with any payment-type solution is that it 
advocates a big change in an existing ecosystem that many vendors simply 
will not support.

Back on track:
The pull model was suggested by DJB a while ago - see 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_Mail_2000
The idea certainly has its merits, except for the same vendor issue 
mentioned above. The project has a catch-22 issue. Vendors will not put 
resources into a project until it has momentum. The project will not 
have momentum until vendors input resources. Sigh.

When considering my ideas, I use a list along these lines as a litmus 
test: http://craphound.com/spamsolutions.txt

Though the list is most definitely cynical, it is so for a reason. Think 
critically about each item and how it really could affect your idea. The 
last thing email needs are interesting ideas that turn out to be 
worthwhile only in the short term - but with long-term consequences.

On 17/03/13 07:09, Chris wrote:
> Hmm Maybe
>
> but nothing else has worked. Perhaps its time to revisit old ideas 
> with a fresh perspective.
>
> My favourite idea back then was collect mail. I could not believe nor 
> understand the attitude from many members of this list that it was not 
> the senders responsibilty to store emails until collected. To me it 
> was the sole responsibility of the sender (or their isp) to store 
> until collection. Data retention laws will soon do the same thing anyway.
>
> It also has the added advantage that email lists are automatically 
> pruned.  To me it was a very good solution, particularly for important 
> emails such as the banking system. uncollected mail could be 
> automatically forwarded for follow up if the subject matter was of 
> high importance. such as "your account is overdue".
>
> But people as they are tend to poo poo any ideas which they didn't 
> think of.
>
> Regards
> Chris
>
> On 17/03/2013 3:27 PM, John R. Levine wrote:
>>> Hadn't read that or anything like it. Even though its not new, a 
>>> system of refundable stamps may well be a system worth revisiting. 
>>> Nothing else has worked.
>>
>> I don't see anything that's changed since 2004 that would make them 
>> any more workable now than they were then.
>>
>> Regards,
>> John Levine, [email protected], Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for 
>> Dummies",
>> Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail. http://jl.ly
>>
>


-- 
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Brendan Hide
http://swiftspirit.co.za/
http://www.webafrica.co.za/?AFF1E97