Anti-spam initiative
Date: February 07, 2006Source: Washington Post
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Maybe this is where it starts to change.
Two of the world's largest e-mail providers, America Online Inc. and Yahoo Inc., have said that they will soon start giving companies the option to pay for guaranteed delivery of e-mails to the inboxes of their subscribers. Though designed to foil spammers and scammers, the tactic is drawing a mixed reaction in the online community, with some viewing it as another step away from the free culture that long defined the Internet.
"The Postal Service has been charging for the delivery of mail for decades," said Nicholas Graham, a spokesman for AOL. "This is being advanced as a voluntary option for people who simply want to have their e-mail delivered in a different way."
Graham said the move is a response to AOL subscribers who have complained in the past that they can't tell if items in their e-mail inboxes are authentic or the work of con artists.
Similarly, last week the popular online classified ads site Craigslist announced that it would start charging for the placement of some real estate ads, to help prevent abuses of the otherwise free system.
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