Yikes! E-mail harvesting possibility?

[Richard Gaskin]

curry wrote:

> The best "philosophy" with this regard is yes, to enjoy lists, don't
> let spam take away any of your fun, but also take a very simple
> measure that stops most of the spam: keep the addresses off web pages.
> 
> So, if this list can do that, either by using an archive service with
> protection, or by restricting access to the archives based on a
> password, we will be able to enjoy our discussions about Rev
> thoroughly but also know we won't be helping the spammers!

Anyone serious about fighting spam will also take a moment to write their
elected representatives on the issue.  In the States you can write any
member of the House or Senate at firstgov.com

After a barrage of emails on the issue over many years, the US federal
government is finally taking action at the federal level.  Many European
countries have already started.  While this won't stop the flood from Russia
or China, most spam sent from their servers is done so by US-based
companies, and precedent has been established to consider prosecuting US
companies regardless of the location of the server.

In due time I'm confident spam legislation will become international law.
As with the Berne agreement for copyrights, it won't guarantee an end to the
problem, but few spammers are based in third-world countries (the greatest
volume comes from the US), so it seems reasonable that spam can be contained
from its current 45% of all email traffic down to a manageable 10% or less.

If you live in a democratic country, take a moment to participate in the
process by advising your elected representatives.  They are your employees.

-- 
 Richard Gaskin 
 Fourth World Media Corporation
 Developer of WebMerge 2.2: Publish any database on any site
 ___________________________________________________________
 Ambassador at FourthWorld.com       http://www.FourthWorld.com
 Tel: 323-225-3717                       AIM: FourthWorldInc