-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Thus bespoke Alan Bostick:
The very nature of this attack makes me wonder whether it would be worthwhile to implement a digital postage scheme for remailers that doesn't happen to be backed by real money. The remailers would continue to be free to use, and currency exchange hassles would be avoided, but many of the benefits of abuse prevention would be in place. So would the infrastructure to upgrade to pay-to-play remailers at a later date.
Doing something like this might also further the analogy of email to snailmail; particularly if the remailers were able to issue 'books' of stamps. It might even be possible to have each remailer issue Estamps (tm) of different 'kinds', much as there are different postage stamp 'themes'. Having different stamps from each remailer would also allow some means of tracking spammers and rip-off artists ("hmmm. an 'Elvis' Estamp. That came from hactic; let's see if they can tell us who they sold this book to.....") IF the nature of the offense were sever enough. Too, Estamp-based remailers would be a start on reputation basing: if the email goes through a postage-based remailer, there will eventually be an increased level of confidence that it isn't some kind of scam or other nuisance ("This came through vox, a postage remailer; therefore, someone had to go through some degree of bother; therefore, it's a lot less likely that it's some Frosh playing with his new Internet toy."). Of course, I could be just spitting into the wind, or posting what is blatantly obvious to everyone else :-) Dave Merriman -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBMPcwgcVrTvyYOzAZAQGK7wP+JItfxqHI/JGIKjPu9Yy7v1gVJQJTK+Bh hV/z4C22hoRweo1jnBrO47GSfjB3aJIrufPjzlm94sRyh/EM1AAGbFWEY/M30Oye fEN6paETcrE6W7arxJPZJFm2IggWYNgNrqwxToA3ZLFmC/8Sv1gH0y7PqNHxjFbz MEL/vQGpd54= =Su5o -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ------------------------------------------------------------- "It is not the function of our Government to keep the citizen from falling into error; it is the function of the citizen to keep the Government from falling into error." Robert H. Jackson (1892-1954), U.S. Judge <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> My web page: http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1148