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Why Bill Gates' Antispam Plan Won't Work | |
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| Time: 07:34 EST/12:34 GMT | News Source: ZDNet | Posted By: Joshua Baer | ||
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"News flash from Davos, Switzerland: The end of spam is near! And it's going to come, Bill Gates predicted at the World Economic Forum, because we're going to make it unprofitable to send. Taken another way: Accepting unsolicited commerical e-mail could become a small source of added income for us all. If Bill Gates has his way (as is so often the case), each of us would establish a price for accepting uninvited e-mail. Thus a company sending an e-mail campaign might have 50 cents at risk for each of a million e-mails being sent, or $500,000 total. I bet that would make someone think before pressing the "send" button." | ||
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| #1 By 7754 (216.160.8.41) at 2/2/2004 11:42:20 AM |
| Another brilliant Coursey article. He suggests using postage charges on email. Wasn't "free" one of the reasons for the popularity of email in the first place? And on a global level, this would put poor countries at a disadvantage. There have to be better ways to approach this issue. |
| #2 By 2960 (156.80.64.137) at 2/2/2004 12:43:29 PM |
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Not only that, but you'd have the innocent paying for the guilty.
What a STOOPID idea. |
| #3 By 3339 (64.160.58.135) at 2/2/2004 1:53:07 PM |
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Um, Coursey is just trying to improve on Gates's ridiculous concept. Gates basically wants to introduce a fee system too, but instead of doing it for all communication, it would only apply to "unsolicited" email and you could choose to not take payment if you... wanted to be nice?
Such an idea is laughably unworkable and doesn't solve any problems. If you are trying to flip that ludicrous idea into something that "might" work, you are probably still going to have a "bad" idea that barely seems feasible... but what's more pathetic: the original, ludicrous, and unimplementable idea, or the one which is actually feasible? |
| #4 By 7754 (216.160.8.41) at 2/2/2004 3:04:49 PM |
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Well, I wouldn't go so far as to call the idea "pathetic," because it strikes at the heart of the problem--spam poses no real financial penalty to the spammers. Gates's proposal is notable in that it puts the power in the end users' hands, rather than instituting a blanket fee. In particular, a blanket fee would penalize poor countries and individuals, further widening the digital divide.
I'm not backing the Gates proposal as I also think it's not really feasible, but the idea has some merits. Coursey's idea may be feasible, but it's just not a good solution. |
| #5 By 3339 (64.160.58.135) at 2/2/2004 5:11:55 PM |
| You acknowledge that Gates's proposal is an INfeasible SOLUTION, but you don't think that's pathetic? |
| #6 By 7754 (216.160.8.41) at 2/2/2004 5:45:07 PM |
| Nope. Lots of things are infeasible, but it does not necessarily follow that they are pathetic. |
| #7 By 3339 (64.160.58.135) at 2/2/2004 5:48:20 PM |
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whatever, bluvg. Sure, lots of things are infeasible. They aren't proposed as solutions either. Gates is literally saying: this is the solution, I can solve the problem, and in two year's time.
It isn't a good solution, it isn't a feasible solution, it isn't a solution. But he thinks it is, which is pathetic. |
| #8 By 7754 (216.160.8.41) at 2/2/2004 6:11:13 PM |
| If everyone shared your outlook, sodajerk, many things we count on daily wouldn't exist. |
| #9 By 3339 (64.160.58.135) at 2/2/2004 7:12:11 PM |
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Whatever, bluvg. I haven't talked to one person who is aware of Gates's "solution" who hasn't described it as laughable and pathetic.
I don't know how pointing that out erases everyday objects from reality. |
| #10 By 3339 (64.160.58.135) at 2/2/2004 7:50:03 PM |
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"With the backing of the internet community, this might have some validity and I wouldnt be surprised if it morphs into something workable."
The problem is: Gates doesn't have the backing of the community. "Two years is a long time for developement purposes." To change SMTP and any other email protocols to include a fee system? Creating a new system which will tie each unique email to an actual individual or organization and to allow for those groups or individuals to be tracked via their email address? To propose legislation making it legal for individuals to make their own determination if an email is spam or not and then to bill the sender? Getting this to happen simultaneously worldwide? (Otherwise, I can't imagine such a system being legal -- very similar to SCO threatening to send invoices to people running Linux.) To eliminate all current modes of "free" email with this replacement system? To develop, distribute, and integrate a micropayment system into every email server so that billing can be handled by individuals or major corporations? I can't imagine the modifications necessary to SMTP becoming anything more than a recommendation in less than 3 or more years never mind development of the complete system. This post was edited by sodajerk on Monday, February 02, 2004 at 20:16. |
| #11 By 3339 (64.160.58.135) at 2/2/2004 8:06:39 PM |
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parker, the fact that his "magic solution" actually involves a few diffferent proposals just makes it all the more laughable and pathetic.
And the "solution" you point out is also laughable and pathetic: we should slow down the ability to process email which will add costs to all IT depts, anyone sending email, will waste time and effort... only to make it "slower" and "more" costly to send email in general. Retarded idea. And how does slowing down email eliminate spam? Answer: it doesn't; it only slows it down and makes it more costly. By the way, did anyone get any direct or bulk advertising in the mail this week? I'm certain that no one did because mail fees and the time it takes to process are simply too costly, right? This post was edited by sodajerk on Monday, February 02, 2004 at 20:07. |
| #12 By 7754 (216.160.8.41) at 2/2/2004 8:08:28 PM |
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It's very easy to criticize everone's suggestion, sodajerk. What's your perfect solution to the problem?
I find it kind of funny that you say "I haven't talked to one person who is aware of Gates's 'solution' who hasn't described it as laughable and pathetic." Is this the kind of thing you discuss at the watercooler? How many people have you talked to about this? Gates has suggested a lot of things besides this solution, and I don't think anyone is saying this is the final solution--even Gates. And, even if the initial ideas aren't feasible, it doesn't mean that they won't lead to something that is workable. How many lightbulbs did Edison try before he designed one that worked? |
| #13 By 3339 (64.160.58.135) at 2/2/2004 8:15:44 PM |
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"And, even if the initial ideas aren't feasible, it doesn't mean that they won't lead to something that is workable."
But it does mean his ideas are laughable and pathetic. That's all I've said. If in 2 years, there is zero spam and it's because of Bill Gates, I'll call myself laughable and pathetic. Until then, I don't see what the hell you are defending or arguing with me about. They are lousy ideas that aren't going anywhere. "Gates has suggested a lot of things besides this solution, and I don't think anyone is saying this is the final solution--even Gates." Yes, he has suggested a lot of things besides this one solution... he proposed 3 solutions in concert... all focused on adding cost and difficulty but by no means solving anything... yet he in fact did say that Microsoft would make spam a thing of the past by 2006. And I am saying that is laughable and pathetic for the six or seventh or who knows what time. I'll add that trying to defend it as anything else is almost equally pathetic and laughable. This post was edited by sodajerk on Monday, February 02, 2004 at 20:29. |
| #14 By 3339 (64.160.58.135) at 2/2/2004 8:32:08 PM |
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"It's very easy to criticize everone's suggestion, sodajerk."
I'm not criticizing everyone's suggestion, bluvg. I am criticizing Bill Gates's suggestions AND prediction and his alone; the same way you don't **** everyone's ****, just Bill Gates's. |
| #15 By 16797 (65.48.182.22) at 2/2/2004 11:34:24 PM |
| So, what's your solution sodajerk? |
| #16 By 3653 (209.149.57.116) at 2/3/2004 1:24:48 AM |
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jerk has lots of responses until gonzo hit him in the gut with "what's your solution".
jerk is one of those guys that talks down all his coworkers ideas, yet never offers an alternative solution. hey, hard to be proven/embarrassed when you never have an idea. gates idea is innovative. will it work? who knows. will it ever get developed? who knows. at this point, jerk is critiquing something gates mentioned twice in a speech. where's steve jobs or larry ellison's idea to end spam? This post was edited by mooresa56 on Tuesday, February 03, 2004 at 01:26. |
| #17 By 16797 (65.48.182.22) at 2/3/2004 1:37:52 AM |
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Actually, bluvg deserves all the credits for that one (see #14). I just wanted to make sure sodajerk doesn't overlook the question :) This post was edited by gonzo on Tuesday, February 03, 2004 at 01:39. |
| #18 By 7754 (216.160.8.41) at 2/3/2004 2:23:11 AM |
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"And, even if the initial ideas aren't feasible, it doesn't mean that they won't lead to something that is workable."
But it does mean his ideas are laughable and pathetic. It doesn't follow. If they lead to something worthwhile, then the original idea is in some way responsible for something worthwhile. Again, just because Edison's ten-thousand something-th lightbulb worked, it doesn't mean the original idea was "laughable and pathetic." Also, I don't think Gates was proposing that Microsoft alone would end the spam problem. Anyhow, what is your solution to the spam problem? Or, with whose solution do you agree? |
| #19 By 4994 (203.45.133.194) at 2/3/2004 6:09:02 AM |
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To end spam a few things will need to be done.
Employees use email for office work only. If found guilty sack them instantly. Remove ads from websites. ISP's ban any user that has been officially found guilty of sending spam. Hence publish their name and address details so the rest of the world can see. Educate users properly not to click those web ads. Offer then free ad blockers, not to willing use their real email address for anything on the web except they are aware of the source. It's really quite simple but the world makes it hard and unthinkable. As usual no flames but constructive replies. |
| #20 By 7754 (216.160.8.41) at 2/3/2004 11:21:31 AM |
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Employees use email for office work only. If found guilty sack them instantly.
Draconian. Many companies would not buy into something so strict. Remove ads from websites. And remove the websites while you're at it--the likely result. Educate users properly not to click those web ads. This is beneficial to some extent, but it doesn't go very far, unfortunately. Users have been educated for years about how not to open viruses and unsolicited attachments, etc., yet it still happens all the time. |
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