Junk email

Junk email has reached a point where it is no longer a nuisance. It is an outright odious and tedious blemish on the brave old world of hyperspace.

One of the most useful and widely used services the internet provides for all of us is email. It allows us to get information to and from family, friends, and business associates in a convenient and timely manner, at a very reasonable price (the connection charges we pay to use the system).

Unfortunately, what used to be a trickle of junk email has turned into a torrent. I get an average of 800 a day. It has become a burden just to scan them to find the few I need to see. The worst part, is that what may look like a legitimate message from someone, is just another pitch to enlarge portions of my anatomy.

These marketers of hyper hype are very creative in the way that con artists are creative. They misspell words that can be used to filter out their mail, and use various other technically illegal techniques to hide the real source of their pitch.

Sadly, they dump their excrement on everyone that has an email posted somewhere in the millions of pages and sites out there. They have no idea if you are a 9 year old girl, or a 90 year old man. As a result, children wind up getting the same pitch for the secret password to a sex site.

We need strong laws that make it a crime to solicit minors for sexually oriented services, and anyone for any unsolicited pitch, much like the law to stop telephone solicitations. Furthermore, even legitimate advertising sent by businesses you have a relationship with must be required to begin their subject line with [ADV] so that the email can be easily filtered out, or placed in separate folder in your email client.

Senator Frank H. Murkowski introduced a bold initiative in an attempt to thwart unsolicited e-mail by attacking spammers at the cash core of their existence. The bill would grant to the Federal Trade Commission authority to investigate unsolicited e-mail activities as they relate to commercial fraud. Representative Gary Miller's Can Spam Act is also in the works.

The E-mail User Protection Act as introduced by Representative Gene Green attempts to prohibit fraudulent abuses of distributing unsolicited bulk e-mail as it interferes with interstate or foreign commerce. The bill charges the FTC with enforcing the potential law that could fine violators up to $50  for each deceptive message delivered by e-mail.

 Maybe these bills will move out of committee and on to the floor for debate, and hopefully, passage into law, soon. Give them your support.

Angry Consumer

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