NY Times Reporter Goes A Spamming
from the fun-for-the-whole-family dept
The NY Times has yet another "interview with a spammer" article. In this one, though, the reporter actually sends out some spam himself. He claims it's "vaguely legal" because it just sent a holiday message, but didn't advertise anything. It would be amusing if someone in a state with strict anti-spam laws finds that spam and sues the NY Times. There isn't too much new in the article, other than how this particular spammer views the legal attempts to stop spam. This guy is recommending "legalized spam" - saying that will solve the problem by letting "legitimate bulk email marketers" (like himself) keep going while stopping the scam artists. Unfortunately, that's not the point. People receiving this stuff aren't pissed off because they're receiving scams. They're pissed off because they can't check their email without receiving a ton of junk they don't want to sift through. He also points out that any law that requires police enforcement will never work, since they won't be able to track down the spammers. He's more worried about laws that let private individuals take action against spammer - since he realizes that the anti-spammers are absolutely capable of tracking him down.
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