I agree completely. It really amuses me how so often one hears the
argument "A and B are both theoretically possible, so A is just as
easy to do as B, so there is no point doing B if you don't do A as
well". Rubbish! A spammer has to do *more work* to grab archived
mailing lists than to suck news from a feed and gather email
addresses. Yes, both are possible, but one is easier. No system is
perfect, but making life even marginally harder for the spammer is
worthwhile. After, these parasites are running commercial
organisations. If you make it harder for them, their overheads
increase. As their overheads increase, their prices to their customers
increase. With luck, if you make it sufficiently hard for spammers to
operate, they become less competitive and hence their customers will
be less inclined to use spammers than conventional
advertising. Without effective international laws which prohibit
spamming, the only answer is economic warfare: make it more expensive
for them to "get at you". Make them less competitive. Every little bit
counts.
Regards,
Richard....