Mark writes to tell us of his new policy:

I have a new life policy: "All other things being equal, avoid empowering lunatics."

Excellent policy, Mark.

Posted by jzawodn at October 13, 2003 09:11 AM

Reader Comments
# E. Naeher said:

I don't think it will work. Here's why:

You, and Tim Bray, and other people like you are well-known. Your sites are heavily linked, your e-mail address is, or has been, plastered all over the net. Therefore, you get much more spam than the average user.

Maybe my e-mail server just has really good filters, but I get, on a bad day, maybe 10 spams. Why on earth would I pay cash to get into a system that will eliminate all of 5 seconds of effort per day? Maybe I'm just stubborn, but my reaction tends to be that anyone who thinks only those who can afford it should be entitled to send e-mail aren't worth writing to anyway. It already makes me angry that many of my e-mails are bounced simply because my mailserver is a free one. Sure, a cent a message doesn't sound like much; but my employer, with three employees, regularly sends announcements to our approx. 700 (paying) members, as well as press releases to dozens of media outlets, and it adds up. As a non-profit, this is not something we could easily afford.

Also, I wonder how exactly this will work for someone like me, who is unable to get either a credit card or a bank account. Or are we simply irrelevant?

on October 13, 2003 09:55 PM
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