I was about to send out a pointer to this interesting paper (http://theory.whirlycott.com/~phil/antispam/rbl-bad/rbl-bad.html) on anti-spam blacklists, when I found a link from it to Larry Lessig's blog (which, clearly, I should read more often). The post is here: http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/lessig/blog/archives/2003_01.shtml#000787 In it, Larry proposes that I judge the outcome of his bet and the future of his job. I accept, and pledge to be a fair and reasonable arbiter. (Although I suspect Larry may not have to worry much about condition (a). This is just a hunch, but I believe that Congress is more likely to approve legislation restricting sexually explicit spam than a bill mandating "ADV:" or its equivalent.) -Declan --- http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/lessig/blog/archives/2003_01.shtml#000787 putting my job where my mouth is A kind-hearted email and a nice analysis of spam have given me an idea: First the analysis: Philip Jacob has a great piece about spam and RBLs. The essay not only identifies the many problems with RBLs, but it nicely maps a mix of strategies that could be considered in their place. But, alas, missing from the list is one I’ve pushed: A law requiring simple labeling, and a bounty for anyone who tracks down spammers violating the law. Then I got an email from a kind soul warning me about my work—”do you know how powerful your enemies are?” this person asked. No, I thought, I don’t, but let’s see. If I’ve got such powerful enemies, then I’ve got a good way to do some good. Here goes: So (a) if a law like the one I propose is passed on a national level, and (b) it does not substantially reduce the level of spam, then (c) I will resign my job. I get to decide whether (a) is true; Declan can decide whether (b) is true. If (a) and (b) are both true, then I’ll do (c) at the end of the following academic year. So: Is there anyone else advancing a spam solution who would offer this kind of warranty? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ Recent CNET News.com articles: http://news.search.com/search?q\clan -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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