Lessig Wagers His Job On Anti-Spam Theory

kien writes "Lawrence Lessig is betting his position at Stanford on his anti-spam legislative recommendations. From his blog:'First the analysis: Philip Jacob has a great piece about spam and RBLs. The essay not only identifies the many problems with RBLs, but it nicely maps a mix of strategies that could be considered in their place. But, alas, missing from the list is one I've pushed: A law requiring simple labeling, and a bounty for anyone who tracks down spammers violating the law. Here goes: So (a) if a law like the one I propose is passed on a national level, and (b) it does not substantially reduce the level of spam, then (c) I will resign my job. I get to decide whether (a) is true; Declan can decide whether (b) is true. If (a) and (b) are both true, then I'll do (c) at the end of the following academic year.' The Declan referred to in point (b) is Declan McCullagh." Update: 01/07 02:45 GMT by T : Speaking of whom, here is Declan's acceptance of Larry's bet.

He won't need his job!

[RumGunner]

Not after making thousands of dollars from his OWN HOME on the INTERNET!!!

.

Since sentiment, but...

[Chester K]

While I appreciate Lessig's intentions here, it usually takes a bit more than a wager to get Congress to pass a law. Perhaps if he backed it up with some cash, Capitol Hill might pay attention.

I have another solution

[sam_handelman]

If (a) Every man on earth has a penis pump in his home, and (b) Africa sees an end to corrupt Juntas that need to hide money in overseas bank accounts then (c) I will stop sending spam.

I'm about as likely to stop spamming as Lawrence is to lose his job.

Re:how about if we cost them money?

[unicron]

Yeah, thanks Joey, we'll get right on that.

Re:Please resign now

[Anonymous Coward]

I might get moded out of exsistence on this

Ahh, the battle cry of the North American karma whore.

Re:A is A

[arkanes]

Conservatism would do no such thing. Intelligent, moral politicians will do that. There's pretty much a derth of them on either side - although I would speculate that young, idealistic people who's goals are things like reclaiming the commons for the people would tend to be democrats rather than republicans.

Re:Please resign now

[tfoss]

And how many times you had a wank last week will be freely posted on Slashdot and be modded up or down.

um, 24. Do I get modded up or down?

-Ted

Make it Slashdot-specific.

[Anand_S]

What a great idea Mr. Lessig has. I've adapted his legislation to be Slashdot-specific. I'm convinced that if my legislation is passed, there will be a significant reduction in "In Soviet Russia" posts. If a) the legislation is passed, and b) it doesn't work, then I'll forfeit all my karma.

Re:Do Bounties Actually Work

[Anonymous Coward]

Did bounties do anything to curb crime in the Wild West?

who cares? think of all the great movies in which a price on someone's head was a major factor. i'd love to see the modern day spam-bounty hunter equivalent.

Sir! We're modelling all the clones on Spambo Fett, greatest spam-bounty hunter in the known universe!

Bet?

[po8]

Technically, this is not a "bet". A wager requires that a potential direct consideration accrue to the winning party. Lessig more accurately labeled it a "guarantee", although it isn't clear how his resignation would be helpful to those who might harmed by ineffectiveness of his law.

I hope Larry doesn't have to resign: he doesn't seem to have much future as a professional gambler :-).