Chris, >Why exactly should spam email be outlawed when the same thing is legal to >do via the postal service? I have heard the arguments that it costs money >to receive spam, but that junk mail is paid for by the sender. But >honestly, how much out of pocket is the average consumer over their spam.
Paid for by the sender? Not here it isn't. You forget that in most parts of the world people still pay for local dialup phone access - by the minute. And it takes time to download email, especially over a slow dialup connection and often Spam includes an html attachment. Spam costs the receiver money in download time, not to mention throw away time, which could be better spent doing useful things instead of being imposed on by unasked for and unwanted spammers. As regards Spam in the physical mailbox, here in France very little is sent through the postal systems. Yes, I get junk mail in my box and it is a PITA but it is hand-delivered by guys paid to go around and stuff it literally in peoples' mailboxes. They even have the PO workers' passkey to get into buildings to get to the mailboxes! But it doesn't cost me more than just tossing it in the handy trash basket expressly for the purpose that sits next to the bank of mail boxes. And I realize that most of these folks wouldn't even have those very low-paying jobs if the practice became illegal, so while I grumble, I don't begrudge them their gigs, which pay their lunches if not their rents. Cheers, Nina ___________________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe send a mail message with a SUBJECT line of "unsubscribe" to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> or <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
