On 2025-10-10 at 13:32:47 UTC-0400 (Fri, 10 Oct 2025 10:32:47 -0700)
Justin Scott via mailop <[email protected]>
is rumored to have said:
Ah, I remember way back when everyone had ideas on how to defeat spam
and
there was a "Why your anti-spam idea won't work" checklist that made
the
rounds (back to at least 2008 but I feel like it goes back at least a
decade farther than that; if anyone has the history on that list I'd
be
interested in the earliest known use of it).
The most famous and oldest such list is from Vernon Schryver and by my
recollection was first published somewhere around 2000, although the
Wayback Machine's first version is from 2003. I'm sure Vernon was using
the term 'FUSSP' before that.
It is important to understand the specificity of that list of flaws to
claims of being the "Final Ultimate Solution to the Spam Problem." It's
NOT a critique of all tactics in fighting spam, it is a critique of the
entire idea that there's a FUSSP. I don't think it is aimed at tactics
that address specific subtypes of spam, rather than claiming to
universally "solve" a problem that is very much intrinsic in the
critical virtues of Internet email. Vernon is the author of the DCC
software, so he clearly believes in spam control.
--
Bill Cole
[email protected] or [email protected]
(AKA @[email protected] and many *@billmail.scconsult.com
addresses)
Not Currently Available For Hire
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