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E-mailers turn isolationist in battle against spam
New York, June 07: Halt! Who goes there? Friend or foe? Internet users frustrated by a rising deluge of spam, or junk e-mail, are resorting to a new arsenal of software tools that block or quarantine mail of unknown origin.
New York, June 07: Halt! Who goes there? Friend or foe? Internet users frustrated by a rising deluge of spam, or junk e-mail, are resorting to a new arsenal of software tools that block or quarantine mail of unknown origin.
The anti-spam options range from address-book based systems that redirect mail from unknown senders, to image-blocking software, to collaborative reporting tools that allow users to report bulk e-mails with a single button click.
In general, Internet users are resorting to the tactics of the medieval castle guard who barred all strangers at the gate. That may sound appealing to anyone who has done battle with cat-and-mouse tactics of spammers or wrestled with a daily barrage of unwanted and often unsavory e-mail messages.
But some Internet watchers see the medium of e-mail -- as a place for informal, even intimate, conversation -- falling victim to the new anti-spam counteroffensive. The open communications system that once was electronic mail is breaking down as the mood of suspicion and helplessness grows, they say.
"The `Net is balkanizing," said Karl Auerbach, an elected director of ICANN, the Internet policy board, and a veteran Internet engineer. "There are communities of trust forming in which traffic ... is accepted only from known friends."
Bureau Report
The anti-spam options range from address-book based systems that redirect mail from unknown senders, to image-blocking software, to collaborative reporting tools that allow users to report bulk e-mails with a single button click.
In general, Internet users are resorting to the tactics of the medieval castle guard who barred all strangers at the gate. That may sound appealing to anyone who has done battle with cat-and-mouse tactics of spammers or wrestled with a daily barrage of unwanted and often unsavory e-mail messages.
But some Internet watchers see the medium of e-mail -- as a place for informal, even intimate, conversation -- falling victim to the new anti-spam counteroffensive. The open communications system that once was electronic mail is breaking down as the mood of suspicion and helplessness grows, they say.
"The `Net is balkanizing," said Karl Auerbach, an elected director of ICANN, the Internet policy board, and a veteran Internet engineer. "There are communities of trust forming in which traffic ... is accepted only from known friends."
Bureau Report