.A look from a different angle.
The 'problem'
As I write this, in early 2007, the volume of unwanted, unsolicited email messages, aka 'spam,' just seems to get more and more overwhelming. The question is, what happens next? Will this flood of unwanted messages just keep growing larger? Will it eventually render email useless? Are there technological solutions that will finally stop it? Can passing more laws do any good?
I do not think the amount of spam in our email system will increase forever. Nothing else ever does. Eventually, something will change. But will the change be no more than the abandonment of email altogether? Perhaps for some people, but I think there are many more possibilities.
Some analysis by others:
WBUR/PRI's program "On Point" had an episode about spam
on 13 December 2006. You can hear the program by going to the web site http://www.wbur.org,
then click on "On Point," then choose archives and look for the date.
My take on it:
In order to know what to do about spam, it's important to look at its causes.
Spam proves that human nature is a lot like the rest of nature. That is, certain aspects of human nature and characteristics of our current culture provide a fertile ground for the growth spam. Just like anything that evolves in nature, especially a 'foreign species' that happens to take root where there are no predators for it, its growth is almost unchecked.
In other words, our current culture actually facilitates spam quite well. Change one or more of these factors and you change spam itself. In any crime there is motive, means, and opportunity. Spam, as it facilitates crime, shares these characteristics.
Let's talk about the motive, or demand first. Just as the current U.S. Government's "War on Illegal Drugs," so called, has as much to do with demand as it does with supply (or it should), so also, spam exists because it has a kind of 'demand' of its own. Here are some aspects of demand:
• the desire that many of us have to 'get rich quickly'
without actually having to work, or at least work very hard.
• the temptation to obtain expensive items, such as prescription drugs,
name brand software, etc., very cheaply.
• our desire to be attractive, sexually potent, appear well monied (by
wearing an expensive looking wrist watch), etc. quickly and easily.
Classical theologians might sum those up under one or more of the so called seven deadly sins, such as 'greed,' 'pride,' etc. So, for every con artist spam scammer with the desire to collect easy money from victims, there is a victim who plays along, often with much the same motivation. They are both interested in the same thing.
Then, there is means. One way that spam is spread is through the computers owned by ordinary people. The con artists have created computer software that can be loaded secretly into other people's computers that can then send out thousands of spam messages without the owner knowing. This kind of "computer virus infection" is designed to give no evidence of its presence while busily sending out messages that are carefully crafted to prevent their source from being revealed. So, when you receive these messages, you cannot trace them back to the source. This is sort of like money laundering, where money changes hands in such a way that its true origin remains obscured.
So, what facilitates this? The answer lies partly in our willingness to create and sell technology that large numbers of people do not understand how to manage it. Put another way, many of us buy and use technology without understanding enough of how it works. Often, people seek out and buy computers at the lowest price as their highest priority. Perhaps we also look at basic specifications, such as processor speed and disk capacity. But many of us don't understand how to evaluate the integrity of the software that comes with the machine, the so-called operating system. Software for 'virus protection' or 'spy ware detection' is sold as an add-on product.
As all of the cheapest computers come with the same operating system software, and that software has not only come to dominate the market, but has also historically had many security 'holes' in its design, this provides a fertile ground for infiltration by spam generating software.
As for opportunity, there are a number of factors, such as the fact that many people think that they should leave their computers turned on all the time, connected to the internet without a router in between. Or that the very design of the email system leaves it open to handling messages without a known origin.
I suppose the details of how various scams work (bilking investors in penny stock run-ups; getting victims to buy into a phoney business money transfer scheme, taking orders for products that don't exist; obtaining credit card numbers for illegitimate charges) has more to do with means than it does opportunity. But my interest here is not in analyzing those details as they will probably change constantly over time.
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So, the question remains, if these are some of the factors, does knowing about them help us in any way?
- myths busted (saving electricity)
- buying power
- mutual aid
- strengthen community
(this article is not finished. I invite you to send me your comments, perspectives, etc.)
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