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Microsoft considers pay scheme for e-mail | |
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| Time: 09:44 EST/14:44 GMT | News Source: E-Mail | Posted By: Byron Hinson | ||
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If the U.S. Postal Service delivered mail for free, our mailboxes would surely runneth over with more credit card offers, sweepstakes entries and supermarket fliers. That's why we get so much junk e-mail: It's essentially free to send. So Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates, among others, is now suggesting that we start buying "stamps" for e-mail. Many Internet analysts worry, though, that turning e-mail into an economic commodity would undermine its value in democratizing communication. | ||
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| #1 By 14158 (170.12.2.132) at 3/5/2004 12:24:03 PM |
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One word, NO!
Do not punish the consumer for the actions of the evil corporate entities! Do not tax our internet! Do not force me to turn this car around! I guess I shouldn't worry too much about it though, it's been proposed before and shot down in flames. |
| #2 By 19992 (68.69.127.19) at 3/6/2004 12:11:01 AM |
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gmr - A couple of points.
MS is not alone in being greedy, all companies want to turn a profit (and a significant one at that). This 'scheme' would go into effect across the Internet if it was affected via a standards body. It would not be specific to Microsoft. Did you read the article? The idea has been bouncing around MS for awhile, and Gates is at least interested in the idea. That said, I don't think this would sound the death knell for the Internet. I believe that an alternate form of communication would rise to take the place of e-mail... That or we'd all bend over and take it as we always do for bad ideas like this.... |
| #3 By 1845 (67.161.212.73) at 3/7/2004 6:44:31 AM |
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Pat,
Blogs, message boards, and news groups are other options. It's not like email is the only way to communicate with people. Also, Bill wrote an essay years ago describing one way paid email might work - the receiver chooses whether the sender has to pay. If the email is on your safe list or it is some long lost friend you just found (you'll then add them to your safe list), they don't get charged. Otherwise (in the case of spammers), they do get charged. Paid email, depending on the implementation, isn't a bad idea. |
| #4 By 2960 (68.101.35.196) at 3/7/2004 9:30:37 AM |
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Not no, but HELL no.
The greed of this man never ceases to amaze me. TL |
| #5 By 1845 (67.161.212.73) at 3/7/2004 8:25:13 PM |
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Your foolishness never ceases to amaze me, TL.
Bill's company is one of the major reasons the common man has even heard of email. His mail server, as I recall, has a dominant market position (e.g. he helped make email what it is today on both the client and the server sides). Why shouldn't he profit from his work. Of course, since there is no implementation or even solid design, who's to say where the money would go? This is yet another example of the clueless TL jumping to conclusions. |
| #6 By 12071 (203.185.215.149) at 3/8/2004 12:28:52 AM |
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#10 "Bill's company is one of the major reasons the common man has even heard of email."
And what are all the other reasons Bob? Email was used very often as a form of communication long before Exchange Server came out and there are plenty of other mail servers out there. Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves shall we. Maybe *YOU* didn't know about email until Microsoft handed it to you but plenty of other people did. "he helped make email what it is today on both the client and the server sides" Yes, he embraced and extended a standard. Nothing wrong with that at all as long as you then don't go around breaking those standards. "Of course, since there is no implementation or even solid design, who's to say where the money would go?" If you read the article, you would fine the following: "Instead of paying a penny, the sender would "buy" postage by devoting maybe 10 seconds of computing time to solving a math puzzle. The exercise would merely serve as proof of the sender's good faith." So you are not paying in monetary terms, you're paying in wasted time and frustration! Sorry but this is an absolutely moronic idea. I would send over 50 emails a day on average at work, at 10 seconds a piece that works out to 8 minutes and 20 seconds of wasted time each day. That's 41 minutes and 40 seconds a week (5 day week) and just over 3 hours a month (4 1/2 weeks per month) - all of that time is WASTED time solving some idiotic math puzzle to allow me to send an email. Thanks but no thanks! I'd opt for the standard which doesn't require me to jump through hoops to prove that I'm not a spammer. Time to go back to the drawing board on this one - absolutely moronic idea. Then again, maybe *YOU* have that much time on your hands and *YOUR* boss doesn't mind you wasting all that time hitting the "SEND" button! |
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