In my inbox, and through the TalkBacks on my columns about spam and via a recent ZDNet poll, thousands of readers are now petitioning the high tech industry to give the idea of an industry-wide anti-spam consortium a go.
The idea, which I proposed in an earlier column, posits that the providers of e-mail solutions that currently interoperate via standard protocols for the purpose of sending and receiving e-mail, should also be able to figure out a way to produce standard, interoperable protocols that help to eradicate spam.
For example, perhaps there could be a standard protocol for unsubscribing to newsletters. When a newsletter arrives in your inbox, your e-mail server or client could test the source system for support of that protocol. If the source of the e-mail passes that test, the e-mail containing the newsletter advances to your inbox. What happens if it doesn't pass? The user should be able to configure what happens next. If the user decides to unsubscribe, instead of being required to click a link or use a reply-to address, the user picks "Unsubscribe" from the e-mail client's menu. The e-mail client (such as Outlook or Eudora or the one on a Nokia telephone) could respond to that command by issuing an unsubscribe request to the source of that newsletter.
E-mail technology insiders tell me that such protocols are possible. The trick, they say, is to get the makers and operators of all the e-mail systems that must interoperate over such protocols to agree on the definition of those protocols, and then to support them. Considering how frequently the industry has formed consortia to produce other standard interoperable protocols, you'd think that getting the industry together to work on something that eradicates spam would be a no-brainer. After all, who doesn't think spam is a scourge? So, why hasn't such a consortium been formed?
Forming a consortium is easier said than done. After working the last few weeks to get the potential members of such a consortium together in consideration of the idea, I have a newfound respect for the people who have successfully pulled together other industry-wide consortia.
Everyone will tell you that it's a great idea, but very few want to be the first to sign up. They're all looking for some critical mass before they'll give it consideration. This puts the onus on the organizer to make the business case for such a consortium's existence. In my case, I also made it clear to potential members that I would use my column to report back to you about who was and was not willing to consider the idea.
I'd like to think that the results achieved so far have nothing to do with the power of the pen. With the betterment of the Internet community at stake, I'd like to believe that those who have so far responded have done so because they believe that it is indeed time for something to be done.
So, where are we? A large, closed-door gathering of representatives from the business and technology sectors, all of whom are willing to consider the formation of such a consortium, is scheduled to take place on February 18 in San Francisco. The content of that meeting confidential until the status of the consortium's formation is officially determined.
The first to say that it was unequivocally "in" was domain registrar and certificate authority Verisign. E-mail technology developer IBM didn't flinch either. Also attending from the e-mail technology provider category are Microsoft, Novell, Oracle, Sun, Qualcomm (Eudora), Nokia, and Mitch Kapor's Open Source Applications Foundation. Some of the biggest names in Internet and e-mail service provision -- Earthlink, AOL, and Yahoo! -- will be there as well. AT&T WorldNet is still undecided. Sprint didn't respond to my overtures.
Equally encouraging is the participation of many organizations involved with legitimate bulk e-mail. These businesses send a lot of legitimate, list-driven e-mail (newsletters, surveys, etc.), represent the companies that do, or provide solutions that make list-driven e-mail possible. Not only did e-mail publishing solution provider TOPICA.com jump at the opportunity, but the company also volunteered its list management and e-mail distribution infrastructure to help with disseminating JamSpam meeting details and materials to the attendees.
Other members of this bulk e-mail community include solution providers such as IronPort Systems, Roving Software, Boldfish, NetCreations, eDialog, and Relevant Tools. As of the writing of this column, bulk e-mail technology provider SendMail had not stepped up to the plate despite numerous solicitations.
On the organization side of the bulk e-mail category are groups like Association for Interactive Marketing and the Network Advertising Initiative that collectively have spent many person-years evangelizing responsible list use through the recommendation and documentation of best practices. They believe that best practices --- like providing a working unsubscribe utility --- can only take you so far and that, to the extent that those practices can be codified into a protocol, they should.
Three organizations that champion the inalienable right to have a spam-free inbox will be there as well: TRUSTe, The SpamCon Foundation, and the Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-mail.
In addition, companies whose commercial interests could be marginalized by the existence of an open anti-spam standard --- companies that specialize in e-mail management, security, and anti-spam --- said they would attend. Along with "early adopters" IBM, Verisign, and IronPort, IronMail provider CipherTrust was one of the first four companies to jump at the JamSpam opportunity. CipherTrust clearly believes such an organization needs to exist. It has been active in encouraging the Internet Research Task Force to consider starting a research group devoted to the problem of spam. Security solutions provider Borderware will be there, as will SurfControl, Pure Messaging, and the Australia-based Bluebottle systems. Still undecided, however, are Symantec, McAfee, and Trend Micro.
Hundreds of smaller companies and individuals that can't afford to make the trip from places like Minnesota, Europe and Asia are to be commended for showing their support. If your company's name was not mentioned and you think it should be, let me know.
While JamSpam sounds promising, you should know that virtually all of the attendees are coming with guarded optimism. Getting a meeting together is apparently the easy part. The hard part is getting something done.
I'll keep you posted.
Is there reason for optimism? Did I not mention your company? Leave a message in the TalkBack forum, or e-mail me at david.berlind@cnet.com.
