FC: Larry Lessig bets his job on spam law -- with me as judge?

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Mon Jan 06 2003 - 15:10:16 PST

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    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?
    
    
    
    
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