RE: Re[4]: Postage Is Due for Companies Sending E-Mail

["Larry Seltzer" <larry () larryseltzer com>]

> > Cheap rethorical trick: I am obviously not missing 
> > the basic point. So cheap it is close to insulting. 
> > I guess it is a matter of definition, just as rootkits are.

I think it's an important distinction. Goodmail is not a solution for
recipients, it's a solution for senders. It doesn't even claim to address
anything to do with mail other than that mail sent using Goodmail. I guess
it's just a matter of you not getting the point.

> > Rest assured that I understand that aspect. As I 
> > said, it is a bit like first class mail. Do you 
> > disagree with that qualification?

As a matter of fact, no I don't. As opposed to what? Second class mail? The
only difference between first and second class mail is the speed of
delivery. There are no rules about who can send first class mail, the return
address on a first class mail could be misleading and it could arrive
unsolicited. Goodmail has nothing in common with first class mail other than
the fact that both have an associated cost.

> > Should I want to send bulk mail to AOL or whoever else 
> > uses the system, that's probably what I would use. Some 
> > spammer might even want to use it anyway if it is cheap 
> > enough compared to the profit they make....

Maybe you think they are a bunch of liars, but Goodmail says they won't sell
access to the service to such people (read my column -
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1923022,00.asp - it's all in there). If
they renege on such policies I doubt AOL and Yahoo would have much patience
for them.

> > Now, the problem is that, unless that particular system is 
> > universal, legitimate mail senders will _still_ have to 
> > deal with other systems...

This fails as a criticism of Goodmail. Senders only pay for messages sent
through systems that do support it.

> > I currently have significant problems with AOL's dumb 
> > filtering. I am not a mass mailer. Let's say I have 
> > 25 AOL users...

Goodmail is not meant for you. It's meant for bulk mailers. And in any
event, I don't know how much trouble it is to implement the system since I
haven't tried it myself. You'd probably do better to fix whatever's wrong
with your message that's causing AOL to block it :)

Larry Seltzer
eWEEK.com Security Center Editor
http://security.eweek.com/
http://blog.ziffdavis.com/seltzer
Contributing Editor, PC Magazine
larryseltzer () ziffdavis com 


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