THE OUTRAGE CRUSADE!

The Outrage is going on a Crusade!

During the last year we've highlighted many examples of gross inequity and injustice in the world. Now it's time to do something about one of them.

Alas, we're not in a position to wage an effective war against many of our targets; the Trial Lawyers Association, bureaucrats, and international tyrants are, for the moment, beyond the reach of justice. We don't care to be the Don Quixote of the Internet.

But there is a less dramatic, but very irritating problem we think we can do something about: spam. While the problem of unsolicited bulk e-mail will probably never be completely solved, we think we can, at the very least, help The Outrage readers greatly diminish spam.

As you probably know, spam is the commonly-used term to describe unsolicited bulk e-mail: those messages that fill your inbox promising get-rich-quick schemes, HOT SEX, and other irritating come-ons. Spam is most often used for commercial purposes, but also included within this category are those who add names to political or other mailing lists without the consent of the recipient.

Unlike telephone solicitations or"snail" junk mail (junk mail sent through the U.S. Postal Service), spam costs virtually nothing to send, making it ideal for those who want to reach a large audience and don't care who they irritate. Imagine pushing a button and having a recorded message sent to one million telephones at dinner time and you'll understand spam. (But spam is more than just an irritation -- see below for more reasons to strongly oppose spam .)

Spam has always been considered a violation of Netiquette, the set of accepted standards of behavior on the World Wide Web. But there are those to whom standards and privacy means nothing.

Of course, many legitimate organizations send mass mailings. The Outrage goes to thousands of subscribers. The key difference is this: have people asked to be included on a mailing list, or is the mailing being sent to them without their consent? If the mailing is unsolicited then it's spam.

We'll have lots more information about spam and what you can do to prevent it once the march gets underway. Right now we're looking for fellow crusaders:

• If you have a special background, experience, or expertise in fighting spam;

• If you are a software maker who produces a spam filter that effectively screens out spam without screening out solicited mail such as The Outrage. We would like to offer The Outrage readers a trial or discounted version of such software;

• If you run an anti-spam site and would like to have it linked to from the Outrage Crusade page;

• If you have knowledge of potential legislative or legal solutions to spam.

If you fall into any of the above categories we'd love to hear from you. E-mail editor@theoutrage.com for more information.

IF YOU DON'T ALREADY DESPISE SPAMMERS, HERE'S WHY YOU SHOULD!

Consumers hate unsolicited bulk e-mail because:

Wastes Time

1. It's very irritating going through your mail and having to weed through and delete all the get-rich-quick, pornographic, and other offers from people who shouldn't have your e-mail address. The most scarce resource is increasingly peoples' time and attention -- and none of us can afford to have it ripped off by spammers.

It's Offensive

2. Quite a bit of the spam is offensive to a wide variety of people. Spam is sent to thousands, sometimes millions of people at a time. Sexual sites offering nude photos are received by nuns and children. Often profanity and obscenity is used in the subject line -- making it virtually impossible to avoid.

Increases Download Time

3. If you don't have a fast modem, or if it's been a while since you checked your e-mail, spam can make the retrieval of e-mail a very slow and irritating process.

Slower E-mail

4. Every piece of e-mail you receive and send goes through the system more slowly because of the millions of pieces of spam choking the Internet network. Whether an e-mail message takes minutes or hours to reach its destination, it would have gotten there a little faster in a spam-free system.

Destroys Legitimate E-Mail Services

5. Services like The Outrage that send mail to subscribers may be destroyed by the rising tide of spam (See Below).

Destroy or Greatly Diminish the Net Entirely

6. Imagine what would happen if you received a piece of junk mail in your inbox from every company on earth -- and the mail was sent to you every day. The only reason this does not currently happen is the restraint exercised by most business people. Sending spam costs the sender almost nothing --all they need is a list of e-mail addresses and spam software, both of which can be bought very cheaply.

It is not difficult or expensive to send spam to a million different people -- and that same piece of spam could be sent every day forever -- at virtually no additional cost to the sender.

There is the potential for spam to completely overwhelm the network, and for so much to end up in your mailbox as to make e-mail virtually worthless. Don't think this is impossible -- spam helped ruin many once-thriving Usenet communities. Don't let it happen again.

Accidental Filtering

7. As Internet Service Providers try to filter spam on behalf of their customers, many legitimate messages get filtered out. An ISP will often halt all mail coming from a particular domain in order to stop spamming originating within that domain. The unfortunate side effect is legitimate email being sent from users within that domain will also be filtered out. In other words, if an ISP screens out a spammer using the juno domain, no e-mail from juno users can get to customers of that ISP.

WHY WEB PUBLISHERS HATE SPAM!

Lose Advertising

1. Most web publishers are coming to the realization that people won't be willing to pay for content for quite some time, if ever. So, like radio and TV, publishers will be completely dependent on advertising.

But if spammers can get away with sending advertising to people who don't want it, at no cost to the spammers, the legitimate business of selling advertising space on the web will be destroyed, or at least greatly diminished. Publishers with no market for advertising will be forced out of business.

Spamming Publishers Gain Advantage

2. An ethical publisher would never try to gain exposure or new subscribers by spamming. Unfortunately, there are many who are not ethical, and try to increase their readership by sending spam to millions of e-mail addresses. The vast majority of people are irritated by this spam. But the spammer always gains a few new subscribers.

The irritation of the vast majority causes the publisher no harm, and they pick up new subscribers at very small cost. In this way unethical publishers who violate the widely accepted rules on netiquette gain a competitive advantage over those who don't spam.

Slows Down Mailings to Subscribers

3. Webzines like The Outrage deliver e-mail to thousands of subscribers who have signed up for such mail. If you haven't gotten today's DO, it's probably on its way, but slowed down in the spam-filled network.

Crowds Mail Boxes

4. One of the most frequent complaints of web users is that their mail box is too crowded. In fact, as spam increases, it's possible that people simply won't be willing to dig through the huge piles of spam to retrieve mailings they have signed up for.

Must Read Spam

5. Publishers like The Outrage really value the interaction with their readers made possible by e-mail. But, without looking at the message, a publisher can not always tell whether it is from a legitimate reader or a spammer. For instance, the subject line "Hi" is often used by spammers. It is also often used by readers commenting on The Outrage. Publishers are thus forced to either ignore potential reader comments or waste valuable time sifting through spam.

This is also a very serious problem for other net businesses, especially those that provide support services. If you're wondering why you haven't heard back from your ISP regarding the e-mail you sent, they're probably busy sorting through hundreds of e-mails, many of them spam.

Removal From Mailing Lists