At 12:58 6/16/98 -0700, you wrote:
It is MUCH more effective to guide business policies by the lure of money than by the gun. Each and every network service I have worked for has, once the benefits of cooperation were pointed out to them, changed their tune.
Unfortunately, for some networks, the expense in fixing the problem is a reason not to...just as some networks want the income from spammers more than a good reputation.
Maybe if it were someone advocating force against YOU you wouldn't be quite so pleased at the prospect as when you think the cavalry is coming to rescue YOU.
By advocating any kind of Internet oversight body, he IS advocating the potential use of force against himself. Unfortunately, the root problem is that the cooperative paradigm envisioned in the Internet's creation has been overtaken by human weaknesses. Greed, sloth and a host of other sins interfere with the Utopian vision of the original 'Net and cannot be effectively dealt with by asking offenders nicely to shape up. What do spammers and nails have in common? They're both intended for hammering. Dean Robb PC-Easy On-site computer services (757) 495-EASY [3279]