Re: test message

On Tue, 13 Nov 2001 19:27:06 +0000, Steve Linford linford@localhost
wrote:

>  From Rudi van Houten, received 13/11/01, 7:20 pm +0100 (GMT):
> >  Since september 2001 I don't receive any messages on this list. Seems
> >  inprobable that the list is so quiet considering what's going on in
> >  the Eurpean Cmmittee. So this is only a test if I can receive from
> >  this list (or send to it).
> 
> Well, you're right, what's going on is pretty grim. I had a long 
> conversation with the Italian MEP pushing the opt-out legislation 
> forward, Marco Cappato, and he explained to me that all users could 
> avoid spam simply by looking at the message Subject before 
> downloading it. I told him the Subject field wasn't part of the SMTP 
> protocol so the spam had to be received before seeing the Subject and 
> he said that's not true because on his Hotmail account he can see the 
> Subject without downloading the message... He said all ISPs must 
> provide the same system Hotmail has. (including that ISPs must filter 
> spam into a separate folder like Hotmail does)

Great.  That, by the way, explains a *lot* about what he's been saying.  I
take it he doesn't have to pay for connect time...  And just how does one
"download" from Hotmail?  Most Hotmail users read their mail in their
browsers while on-line.  Can be a rather expensive pastime on a metered
'phone connection.

Interesting enough, he said in the debate that address scraping was
"already illegal today".  Atro Tossavainen of Finland has been hearing
different from the UK Information Commissioner, however.


> I also spoke (by email) to the British MEP responsible for pushing 
> the UK side of the opt-out legislation - Michael Cashman MEP. He said 
> that because so much spam was coming into the UK from the US, spam 
> must be allowed in the UK or else our spammers would be at a 
> commercial disadvantage...

Cashman is *terminally* clueless.  In addition to the commercial advantages
of American and Far East spam (which most of us can't even **** read even
if we wanted to), there is something about the disadvantages of opting in
to lists deemed "subversive" -- I'm guessing he's banking on suspect
material being spammed to all and sundry and only those who are interested
actually opening it... 

See http://www.euro.cauce.org/en/vote_result1.html#A42 for a record of how
MEPs voted the last time.  I'll be updating the pages when the minutes are
available and I have some time.

GWM(B.)