John Oram wrote: > > Day Brown said in part: "... It aint just the porn. 90% of the messages > I get are spam off the net. The BBS QWKmail system had no spam at all. > ..." > > SPAM is a nuisance at best and insulting and demeaning to a lot of > folks. IMO I'll put up with the inbound SPAM to have unfettered ACCESS > to the maximum number of web pages, ftp sites, and pass word controlled > access to proprietary intranets. I aint saying we should return to the BBS ascii format. I am saying that SPAM is yet another example of unintended consequences that have not been factored into the claims of 'progress' in the computer world. GUI interfaces were promoted as improving the productivity of workers, but they also resulted in much more appealing computer games, whose effect on the profitability of office output has been difficult to measure.
All of these unforseen aspects combine as diminished returns. As for installing more software, as in the proposal for spam filters, I have seen that I can install anything I want on a dos system with little or no risk to the kernel, and even if it is damaged, repair is quick and simple. But I have seen trying to install something in Linux completely trash the drive. It may very well be that I dont properly understand how to install linux apps, but in that case, it may very well be that I am too stupid and lazy to read and properly understand the documentation, and not lucid enough to locate the right sources. Of course, this is also complicated by the habit I got from dos where the documentation came with the app and was on my own drive, readily available. whereas with linux apps, what seems to be happening is that they are only offering documentation online, which means that you havta fill out a form, and make yourself even more subject to spam. no thanx. I have not had good luck with that. What I would advocate is a global user co-op, which like the BBS nets, was actually owned by the sysops and users rather than some non-personal organization in it for the money. I live in a rural area, and see that our local co-op electric utility has delivered electricity at far lower rates than most folks pay. This time of year, with the hydro full of winter rain, we even sell what we dont need, and our rates run about 4 cents/kwh. A coop ISP/Internet could do the same; make access between the user base unimpeded, with every source of every post identified as to just who sent it. The users, rather than the profit centered ISP and the advertisers, would have control over who had access. It would be a very competitive system, for without the spam, the bandwidth pipes from the backbone to the user would be gonzo cheaper. To unsubscribe from SURVPC send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with unsubscribe SURVPC in the body of the message. Also, trim this footer from any quoted replies. More info can be found at; http://www.softcon.com/archives/SURVPC.html
