"Known as the Can Spam Act, the new federal legislation authorizes, but does not require, the Federal Trade Commission to set up a Do Not E-mail registry similar to the proposed federal Do Not Call list, which is now caught up in litigation. It also carries criminal penalties of up to five years in prison for violators. “With this bill Congress is saying that if you’re a spammer you could wind up in the slammer,” said Sen. Charles Schumer, (D.-N.Y.) a supporter of the legislation, which has passed through both houses of Congress and is expected to be signed by President Bush." - from Knowledge @ Wharton

My problem with federal legislation is that I know all too well that interpretation of fact is frequently determined by financial resources used to prove determination.

Realize that any legal system has errors and I am not implying guilt on OJ.
FACT: if OJ was poor he would probably be in jail today.
FACT: if my sister were rich she would probably not be in jail today for a murder I know she did not do.

My solution to the spam: combine technology with education.

Technology: bayesian spam filter

Education: Just as we teach basic sex education (I am still learning), we can teach junior high school children a 1 hour course on marketing and spam...which will save them many hours of their life in the future.

Also create an online website which offers free educational material and a quick streaming video which covers the same topics. With as much coverage as the current legislation is getting, we must realize that an education based free program would get tons of free coverage.

Have the government sponser a $10,000,000 advertising program for the website (spend ~ 00.00001% of what we are spending to escalate terrorism via "THE WAR ON TERROR").

Sites displaying Google AdSense can provide free distribution and advertising on the pages which do not contain adequate content to display targeted ads. If the site fit my ideas of it I would link to it from all of my websites, as many others would do.

Payment Structure:

Time wasted is money lost. Much of the efficiency which the internet has granted business has been at the expense of consumers. I have thought long and hard about tons of different great financial ideas.

The problem is that in some way any or all systems can be avoided or taken advantage of. Even if all funds that were collected went to 3rd party charities or businesses associated with improving the fundamental technology there would be problems.

Charity: who decides what is worthwhile? What is pure? Our Food For Peace program undermines the stabilitiy of commodities in 3rd world countries causing mass murder and starvation.

Any selection process would have to be rigerous to prevent fraud. Attaching any charity with something as frequently used as email will give it economic advantages which are unparalleled by its competitors, this type of move would also likely destroy the core goals of the charity and undermine any efficiency the organization may of at one time had.

Even non profit organizations have employees they must pay and contracts they must hand out. What little I learned about government spending while attached to navy nuclear power scares me when thinking of the idea of attaching these same ideas to a method of communication as basic as email.

Improving technology fund: if the workers did a really good job they would kill off spam. It would not be in their best interest to do their best work as they would soon loose their jobs.

The desire to attach legislation and finance to the problem are simple in that they further control public opinion and limit human voice in a way which seems pure, but can land me in jail.

Just recently we began to regulate phone calls (after the technology has been around for how long?) The internet has been an amazing success in the spread of humanity. Why suddenly should those who know little about its technology or the internet control it in any way?