----- Original Message ----- From: "Brian Bisaillon" <Brian.Bisaillon@mbs.gov.on.ca> To: <billcu@citynet.net> Cc: <ietf@ietf.org> Sent: Friday, August 16, 2002 10:52 AM Subject: Re: Why Spam is a problem > I don't see how filtering messages helps with bandwidth issues associated with spam. You still have to receive spam before you can filter it out and this is what uses up bandwidth. Spam needs to be stopped at the source before it even enters a receiving network. That source is the service provider and the fact is that those service providers don't take accountability for the service they provide. Electronic mail is an ungoverned medium and there is no accountability built-in and this is what promotes spam. I don't understand how laws can help when systems on the Internet cross many different jurisdictions accross the world. Also, changing the protocol or adding extensions results in an enormous amount of infrastructure change. Keep in mind, a "no soliciting" extension may not be a solution in another country where they have not adopted any laws to back it up. > > The Internet is an open and interoperable medium. You can't change the design because it's too late. The fact remains that user A can still send a message to user B and that user B has to receive that message before he/she can filter it out unless user B's network blocked out user A's network to begin with. Otherwise, there would have to be some way that spam messages would have never been sent from user A in the first place. So the question is how do you prevent spam before it happens? > So the responsibility should be placed on lower tier ISPs, what about the main backbone like MAES. > > > > > > > >