Twenty-five years ago, when the Internet consisted of less than a half-dozen networked computers, memos among its pioneers discussed the potential problem of online junk mail.
Today, that unsolicited e-mail is known as spam and is as much a part of online life as rebooting and computer viruses.
Ranging from a mild imposition to a major frustration, the electronic influx of unwanted and unsolicited e-mail has become such an issue that it has state and federal government officials scrambling for some sort of appropriate legislation.
“There’s not a whole lot that people can do,” said Patrick Burleson, an Internet systems developer for Picasso Software in Richardson, Texas.
Responding to the mass mailings just confirms that your e-mail account is active, “and you’ll end up getting even more junk mail,” Burleson said. “They’re pretty ruthless about it.”
According to the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail, or CAUCE, the most common types of spam are chain letters, multilevel marketing or “pyramid” schemes, get-rich-quick schemes and stock offerings for little-known start-up companies.
Once people land on one of these mailing lists, they are likely to receive a continuous stream of unsolicited e-mail as the lists are sold to other groups.
While its printed counterpart, direct mail, is popular because it is inexpensive, spam is even more affordable. Nothing more than an Internet connection and a list of e-mail addresses are required for an individual to take mass marketing worldwide.
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CAUCE hopes 2001 will bring legislative remedies for e-mail abuse. Last year, a bill backed by the group sailed through the U.S. House, 427-1, but failed in the Senate, said John Mozena, the organization’s vice president and co-founder. That bill gave Internet service providers the ability to prohibit the spamming of their customers. Violators would have been fined $500 a message.
“We’re hoping to take it back up this session, and we think the fact that Congress will be so tightly divided works to our advantage,” Mozena said. “This is a bipartisan issue. Everyone hates spam, and they’re going to be looking for legislation that will be supported by all parties and bring everyone together. This is one of those issues.”