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I strongly approve of .mail, but...

  • To: stld-rfp-mail@xxxxxxxxx
  • Subject: I strongly approve of .mail, but...
  • From: Herbie Robinson <hrob@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sat, 17 Apr 2004 21:51:01 -0400

I think the proponents are seriously underestimating the momentum they will have to overcome to get this to actually work, but it's the best idea I have seen, yet. It can't hurt to give it a try.

I run a very small home business and spam is costing me way more than $2000 per year now. Even if it actually cost me $2000 to solve the problem, I would probably grudgingly spend the money; however, if I understand this scheme right, I would only need to get a .mail domain if

1. I ran my on SMTP server.

2. The server needed send mail outside my own organization and bypass my ISP's normal mail sending procedures.

I have no such needs; so, I don't see how widespread use of .mail will have any additional impact. My ISP already provides an SMTP server for me to send with (verified by what IP I connect on). If I had to do e-mail on the road (I don't, now), I could set up a VPN with my base system easily enough. Again, this is what I would have to do anyway and .mail has no impact on it. The dreamers out there who think SMTP servers should be open commodities are either spammers or don't realize that open servers invariably get black listed and can't effectively send mail anyway.

I am making the assumption that I will never have to use a .mail TLD as part of an e-mail address (i.e., name@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx). I wouldn't like that one bit, but doesn't solve any technical problem; so, I can't imagine they are proposing that.

If I understand this proposal correctly, the only organizations that would need .mail domains are ISPs and large bulk mailers. Smaller ISPs wouldn't even need a .mail if they have an agreement with their backbone supplier to accept e-mail traffic.

I don't see what the problem is with ISPs providing servers for their customers to send mail with. They do it, now, and virtually no spam comes through those servers. I see 50-100 spams a day (and that's AFTER the filters) and virtually all of it is from either rooted home computers on cable modem connections or from certain countries (China, Korea, Brazil, and to a lesser extent the former Soviet block... and wannado.fr).

I don't think that the use of the .mail domain should be limited to large bulk mailers. I think ISPs should be encouraged to use .mail for their SMTP servers (along with a policy for the occasional slip ups that will occur). To this end, I think there should be fines for sending spam from a .mail domain, an all-or-nothing take it back approach doesn't seem workable. People do make mistakes...

One could really bootstrap this scheme by handing out .mail domains to all ISPs in the US and Europe (except wannado.fr and a few other well known exceptions) without even vetting them first. The domains would be taken back the first time an serious amount of spam was sent, of course.

For the record, I am a software developer, but I do not work on e-mail related applications. I do work on device drivers, including TCP/IP stacks. In other words, I have a financial interest in general success of the Internet, but not in any specific e-mail schemes. My business is incurring substantial unwanted damages from spam.

BTW:

IN MY OPINION, The comments provided by AccuSpam are inaccurate and appear to be an obvious attempt to preserve their revenue stream. In other words, take into account that it is in their best interest to shoot down all alternative spam solutions.
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