[Am-info] Microsoft Slap Major Spam Ring With Lawsuits

[Roy Bixler]

On Fri, Dec 19, 2003 at 02:42:52PM -0500, Erick Andrews wrote:
> You're so right, but what I find even more unconscionable is that they
> will push to make "opt-in" the default.

No, in YOU-CAN-SPAM, they pushed hard to make "opt-out" the default.
The "legitimate" part is that there is no header or address
obfuscation and there is supposed to be a working unsubsribe
mechanism.  I note that this is contrary to the EU regulation on spam,
where, after much wailing and gnashing of teeth, they decided that
opt-in was the only workable default.  Why do I believe the EU stance
is correct?  In my case, with all the spam that I get, I would still
be spending too much time opting out of each spammer's list.  But,
here in the US, the marketers successfully complained that opt-in was
too much of a burden on them.  I often wonder if our government
considers commerce to be more important than people.

R.

-- 
Hartley's First Law:
        You can lead a horse to water, but if you can get him to float
on his back, you've got something.