Spam column a bunch of baloney
In response to the May 16 Perspectives column by Barry Dennis, "Why I love spam":
Baloney! (No processed meat pun intended.) Dennis never received a hundred pieces of junk (postal) mail a day, half with dirty words or pornographic images on the envelope, where he can't throw them out without seeing at least part of them.
Politicians didn't invent this problem; spammers (and administrators who
allow their machines to distribute spam) did. And it's going to get worse before it gets better.
I'm on the DMS opt-out lists, and I have never longed for another catalog. On the contrary, I'm glad to save a tree or two. I can get information when I go looking for it.
I don't appreciate getting stuff that's offensive and insulting, much of which would be prosecuted if sent through the U.S. mail. Companies with which I've opted in are welcome to send me bulk e-mail offers. But that's not spam.
Because bulk e-mail is so easy and cheap to create, it has to be considered differently than postal mail. Opt-in is the only commercial e-mail policy I can respect.
Paul A. Collins |
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