[CS-FSLUG] Let's Talk About It: Web of Trust

[Ed Hurst]

Don Parris wrote:

>>While fighting these types of misbehavior is arguably Quixotic, to
>>simply drop it makes things only worse. What are the moral grounds for
>>continuing the fight, for attempting to enlist others in the fight? What
>>can we as a list together say for or against any part of this issue?
> 
> This is along similar lines:
> http://technology.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,16559,1674358,00.html

Okay, so we have a lawsuit in which the spammer simply didn't bother to 
contest the claims and paid the man less than they would have a lawyer, 
or the cost of time for an employee to defend it in court. If it happens 
a great deal, they may actually decide the cost is too great and do 
something different. That "something different" might well include 
contracting the spamming out. The sad thing is, for what it cost them to 
send the spam, just one or two customers buying would easily pay for the 
spamming.

Lawsuits are good, and more power to those who can do that. We see some 
government policies are raising the price of spam somewhat. It should 
always be possible to sue successfully in small claims court. Sadly, we 
can't do that here in the US unless we are an ISP. I've already written 
at length about how spamming shifts the cost of advertising almost 
entirely onto the individual recipients. That's immoral; it amounts to 
an indirect theft, an abuse of services for which users pay. Hitting 
spammers in the pocket book is the only legitimate way to hurt them.

The spammer was Media Logistics UK (www.medialogisticsuk.net). Now, what 
about the company that sold services to the spammer -- Fasthosts 
Internet Limited (fasthosts.co.uk)? Are they not somewhat responsible? 
(BTW, I've written to Fasthosts in my guise as "journalist" for Ofb.biz, 
but it may not be proper to post here their response, should I get one.)

-- 
Ed Hurst
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