Would you pay to send e-mail ?

[Cornholio 0]

According to this article :
http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/internet/03/05/spam.charge.ap/index.html
Mr Bill speaks on behalf of different methods for "paying" for e-mail either by cash or other computer intensive (time) methods.

What would you be willing to do ?

Me, I hate spam but I do believe that it's inevitable and it's not going to stop without drastic measures. I would gladly pay .01-.02 cents per e-mail per recipient. I don't send a lot, so maybe 1-2 bucks a month would be fine, as long as it stopped or considerably reduced the number of spams I get. I'd also go for the option of having my computer spend 10 seconds or more (say up to 2 minutes) to send 1 e-mail, as long as long as it stopped or considerably reduced the number of spams I get.

Butthead: Whoa! Burritos for breakfast!
Beavis: Yeah! Yeah! Cool!
bellyflier on the dz.com hybrid record jump

[quade 4]

Why do I get the feeling that if Bill Gates wants to charge something for email, that he's already figured out a way to skim some of the cash?

Hey Bill, I have an idea, why not create some FREE email tools that would defeat the spammers once and for all? Or how about closing all the freekin' security holes in your freekin' software so that the entire country doesn't shut down periodically?

Bill Gates is the devil.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[skyyhi 0]

Since I already pay for my internet service provider, no, I don't believe that I should have to pay additional to stop spam. . .my service provider does, however, do an EXCELLENT job of keeping spam out of my inbox. . .

________________________________________
Take risks not to escape life… but to prevent life from escaping. ~ A bumper sticker at the DZ
FGF #6
Darcy

[skydiver30960 0]

I'm with skyyhi on this one. My internet-based email does a great job of filtering out spam. Not perfect, but way better than nothing.

Email is one of the few (relatively) free things we have in this world. I'm sick at the thought of having to pay money in addition to being bombarded by online advertising and popups and all the other crap we have to put up with. I might consider paying if the companies did away with the advertising and popups and such, but if you think that'll ever happen...

Elvisio "not holding my breath" Rodriguez

[CrazyIvan 0]

Let's see how Billy reacts to this email:


Mr. Bill Gates

Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-6399
USA

Dear Mr. Gates,

After reading your proposal on the media regarding "pay-per-email" I would like to give you my humble opinion: KISS MY ASS!!!


Sincerely,

Crazy Ivan
A43359

__________________________________________
Blue Skies and May the Force be with you.

[Dougjumper 0]

Not giving Bill any more $...
He takes enough as it is...no way dude..
No charge..for E-mail.
What U need is a good Spam Buster or Filter man.

[flyangel2 2]

I use this. It does a great job and cost very little.

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. - Edward Abbey

[headoverheels 334]

I'm in favor of paying to send e-mail, and being paid that money by the sender to receive it.

[RoysPlayThing 0]

*Sigh*

_______________________________________________
My mind is like a parachute...it functions only when open.

[DeNReN 0]

I concur with Ivan "KISS MY ASS!!! "

MS/Greedy Bill has and is curently trying to suck up a "few more pennies" from the internet public......those pennies will mean billions to a company like MS...MS is acting like a crack dealer..."lets get them hooked and then.....charge them"..................recently MS killed off its public chat rooms..only too offer the same service at a price...and now E mail?........SCREW YOU BILL.

There are enough services/providers out there to expressely tell Bill where he and MS can go.

[bvsdjumper 0]

Paying for e-mail might reduce/eliminate spam, but it will also reduce/eliminate informal/personal e-mail. People are cheap (I'm cheap). Even at 2 cents, people won't be so quick to send on those jokes or pictures they got. E-mail will become like sending a snail-mail letter. People will only send a message when they really need to. Network admins might like it, but I see it as a bad thing.

Plus, who gets the money? If it's the government, then expect the price to go up and up as the country gets deeper in debt.

What about international e-mail?

What about Web sites where you have to register and get e-mail confirmation? Their cost goes up. What about sites you order things from and get order confirmations from? Their cost goes up so your cost goes up.

I think that 1-2 cents per e-mail could be more expensive than it looks.

--Art

Sky-div'ing (ski'div'ing) n. A modern sport that involves parties, bragging, sexual excesses, the imbibing of large quantities of beer, and, on rare occasions, parachuting from aircraft.

[TheBile 0]

I can handle your bog-standard Spam, even when they subsitite 'S' for '$' and 'a' for '@' to try to avoid spam filters. It doesn't bother me that much. But spam disguised as something else does. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

Sender : Account Dept
Title : Your Account is due for payment
Actual E:Mail Content : Buy Viagra Cheap on EMail

Sender : Customer Services
Title : Your subscription renewal is due.
Actual E:Mail Content : 'Earn $$$$$ by surfing the internet' scam.

Sender : Julie
Title : Hi there.
Actual EMail content : Anti-Depressants at cheap prices. Buy in bulk and save even more.

Sender :
Title :
Actual Email Content : See me Wet & Wild on my Webcam.

These are the Spams which should be dealt with first and should be made illegal, but an attempt to remove ALL spam by charging users that are NOT spammers ? That sucks and would not go down well.

Gerb

I stir feelings in others they themselves don't understand. KA'CHOW !

[wallygator 0]

In a way we are already paying to send emails one way or another. By paying for internet access you pay for your email.
The briiliantly corruptted minds at the head of the canadian postal service is trying to ram through the house to have a bill passed that would automatically charge you on you phone bill for any emails sent or recieved. They claim that because its a form of mail they are entitled to and have a god given right to charge for email beacause last year they made 7.9 million and not 8.2 million. doesn't that just bite you lost 300,000.

--------------------------------------------------
who Jah bless Let no man curse.

[gremlin 0]

There is already a big enough market in "second hand" MS software due to the extortionate prices charged for an original. Would this be any different if we were charged for e-mails? Unlikely. People will always find ways around unfair prices.

I'm drunk, you're drunk, lets go back to mine....

[champu 1]

keep in mind that a signifigant amount of spam comes from hijacked servers/clients. If e-mail starts costing money, we're going to start seeing even more spam-sending worms making their way around the internet.

charging for e-mail would certainly suck for any group or organization that uses e-mail to send newsletters to it's members (cough*university skydiving clubs*cough)

[PhillyKev 0]

Quote

Hey Bill, I have an idea, why not create some FREE email tools that would defeat the spammers once and for all? Or how about closing all the freekin' security holes in your freekin' software so that the entire country doesn't shut down periodically?

I'm no big fan of Gates, but the spam problem has little to do with MS. The SMTP protocol is designed, and the whole internet architecture for that matter, to be reliable and fault tolerant. It was not designed for security. It was originally designed by the military and they wanted it to be robust enough to keep functioning even if multiple parts of the infrastructure are taken out. SMTP is a peerless connection. There's no authentication and no real time verification of the originator. Unless someone designs an entirely new email protocol, SPAM is here to stay. And MS can't just do that, it would have to be an international standards body.

As far as paying for email with either money or computing time, I'd be for it if it elliminated spam. But it won't. As mentioned by others, there are plenty of exploits out there whereby the spammers don't even need to use their own computers to send the mail.

[nathaniel 0]

Whether or not it succeeds commercially, it doesn't stand a snowballs chance of addressing the spam problem.

Already spam is sent via hijacked computers / accounts...now the victim has another expense to deal with.

This is just a rights grab, microsoft and any similar company would like to own the right for you to send email and license it back to you for a fee. It's not related to the spam problem.

it's a boondoggle.

nathaniel

My advice is to do what your parents did; get a job, sir. The bums will always lose. Do you hear me, Lebowski?

[PhillyKev 0]

Quote

it's a boondoggle

Is that like a bodonkadonk?

[Guest]

Quote

Why do I get the feeling that if Bill Gates wants to charge something for email, that he's already figured out a way to skim some of the cash?

Hey Bill, I have an idea, why not create some FREE email tools that would defeat the spammers once and for all? Or how about closing all the freekin' security holes in your freekin' software so that the entire country doesn't shut down periodically?

Bill Gates is the devil.

They could start by developing some AI parsers that read the language of an email message and discard the gibberish.

As for paying - as usual, those who don't help to bake the bread want to help eat it. F* them.

mh

.

"The mouse does not know life until it is in the mouth of the cat."

[riddler 0]

Quote

I would gladly pay .01-.02 cents per e-mail per recipient

Did you know the Post Office charged just two cents for first class mail until 1917? 37 cents is still a damn good rate for postage, but the point is this: If you start charging even a nominal rate now, it won't be long until you are paying more for every email. All corporations have to do is cite "market conditions", and raise the rates. Email is already an essential part of businesses and many people's personal lives, so everyone will pay the higher rates. You may be willing to pay 1 cent now, but how long until every email is 37 cents? Or a dollar? Companies will offer premium email services for more money, and people will pay for it.

Bill Gates is smart enough to think long-term. He's hoping you aren't.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD