🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <329B1EB8.D7787C8@brisnet.org.au>,
Jenn Vesperman  <jenn@brisnet.org.au> wrote:
>Direct mail is illegal if posted in a letterbox that has some sort of 
>'no direct mail' on it, either an 'australia post only' sticker, the 
>sticker the direct mail organisations supply, or just a handwritten 
>scrawl that says 'f- off'.

Junk snail-mail is illegal in boxes so marked?  That is surprising. 
Although explains why junk mail gets left *next to* rather than *in*
our mailbox--I thought that they were just lazy <g>.

>Perhaps we can set up an RFC for an equivalent sticker for mail
>programs, and a header that 'legitimate' spam emailers -must- use?
>
>I know that this requires the spammers to behave, but I think there 
>is likely to be too much commercial pressure for 'internet advertising'
>for us to be able to prevent it. I am afraid that control is the most
>feasible solution.

Sendmail has a `Precedence:' field which would be appropriate,
although I don't think it is covered by an RFC.  Well behaved mailing
lists use

    Precedence: bulk

to assist queue scheduling.  Some MUA's may also make use of this
field to sort or filter messages.

Unfortunately, the chances that a bulk e-mailer will voluntarily use
`junk' precedence and thereby slow the delivery of their `urgent'
advert are probably pretty slim.

Perhaps if ISPs used SMTP server software hacked to automagically
include a low precedence for consecutive identical messages with a
total `RCPT TO:' count exceeding some limit...

Regards,
-- 
Brendan O'Dea                                        bod@compusol.com.au
Compusol Pty. Limited                  (NSW, Australia)  +61 2 9809 0133