Digest V102 #181, Chris, [EMAIL PROTECTED] broadcast into cyberspace: >Why exactly should spam email be outlawed when the same thing is legal to >do via the postal service?
Because the federal government collects postage fees for junk mail; spammers use other folks (ISPs, servers, etc.) to send their crap out. >But honestly, how much out of pocket is the average consumer over their spam. Not all that much, but I =hate= to have to pay to be annoyed. >After all, most people have >(or can easily setup) filters to dump the spam for them, yet they still >have to look at and manually sort their junk mail. I sort it (witout opening) on the way from the mailbox to the door, tossing the junk in the garbage can as I pass by. > Is it >spam if my fire department sends out a yearly fund drive solicitation to >the residents we cover? We do it via postal mail, why can't we do it via >email? No, because I'll bet the fire dept. pays first class postage, and offers a =real= benefit to a =limited= clientele; spammers offer ripoffs broadside, looking for a patsy. > It isn't illegal for someone to cold call your phone >number to try to sell you something. If you don't want phone calls, you >take efforts to protect your phone number (unlisted, only give it to >friends, get caller ID and an answering machine so you can screen calls). In Georgia, and I think other places, you can have your name put on a "No Call" list; the state notifys the calling outfits to =not= call listed numbers. If they do and you report it to the state they can be fined up to $10,000 (I think) -- and they don't have to be in Georgia to be required to pay. >But despite my intense dislike of spam, junk mail, and especially >telemarketers, I hesitate to just pass blanket laws blocking them. I fear >the fallout they can cause. I fear cutting off legit uses, all in the >name of stopping an annoyance. I have to agree with you. -- Selah! BWms [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] -= "Never trust a computer you can't throw out a window." Steve Wozniak =- ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe send a mail message with a SUBJECT line of "unsubscribe" to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
