Spam Is a Four-letter Word
The Denver Post
May 25, 2003

I am a woman. Therefore, I do not care to enlarge a body part I don’t have. I am not interested in thousands of hot Russian women or teenage nymphets. Viagra is not on my prescription list. I don’t want help with my debts, a new mortgage or even an ink cartridge for my printer.

Every morning, my email is overloaded with spam, lots of it pornographic. Much of it disgusts me; all of it infuriates me. I am enraged at the invasion of my privacy, at the waste of my time and, when it comes to the pornography, the exploitation of women. I am frustrated with Microsoft network, my Internet service provider, for doing so little to stop the trash. Fortunately, I don’t have young children who could be exposed to the smut that appears on my screen each morning.

My “blocked senders” list is long and completely useless. I used to click the box that tells an emailer to “unsubscribe” me, but learned too late that that just confirms my address is real. My complaints to Microsoft’s are for naught. So, now, I just do massive “deletes” and quietly seethe.

Spam is clearly out of control. No one seems to know what to do about it. The Internet is so flexible that spammers can move rapidly from one server to another, change email addresses in seconds and steal email addresses at will. Legislators puzzle over what to do. The major Internet access providers have vowed to go after the problem with a vengeance. Even business leaders are worried about how this massive abuse will affect legitimate business use of the Internet, and about the time their employees must take every day to get rid of the flood of spam.

Well, someone out there is making money off all this unwanted mess. Otherwise, it wouldn’t continue. Obviously, lots of people look at the porno sites because there are countless numbers of them. Being an ardent supporter of free speech, I’m willing to let those who get their kicks from their computer screens do so. But, I don’t want that trash coming into my computer, my business or my home.

So, maybe it’s time to take a different look at how we can stop this unwanted deluge of spam, pornographic and otherwise. Maybe it’s time to focus on finding those businesspeople who make money from invading our privacy with their unwanted messages. If the FBI can trace a terrorist’s email through a complex web of servers and addresses or follow the trail of a skilled hacker, maybe they can also guide us in locating the owners of spam businesses.

Since Internet service providers make money from providing their service, they surely know who their customers are. Even if their customers are a swarm of fleas dancing from one server to another, a concentrated, cooperative effort should enable them to identify their problem accounts. I certainly don’t have the technical skills to know how to do this, but they do. And, it’s time they used them to protect their legitimate customers and the integrity of the Internet itself.

I’d like to know who invests in these spammers. It would be a pleasure to boycott any legitimate products or services they own until they knock off the spamming. With the amazing speed of global email, it would be easy to let millions of people know who these abusers are. I’m ready!

Next, I’d like Colorado legislators (and Congress) to set up “no-email” lists just like the “no-call” lists. It may be far more difficult to police the Internet, but it would give us some legal grounds for going after the worst of the spammers. Because, I suspect a lot of the financial backing for these locusts comes from right here at home, even if the server is located abroad.

So, don’t send me your filth, your ads, your business proposals or your photos. Ask me first if I’m interested in what you have to offer. And, if I say no, respect my privacy. I’ve had it. So have millions like me. Don’t email me; if I want your information, I’ll email you.