Microsoft Will Sell Whitelist Services For Hotmail 380
Ec|ipse writes "Looks like Microsoft has found another way to make money, this time from spam. Microsoft has adopted a "whitelist" program (Bonded Sender by IronPort) which will allow marketers to pay Microsoft so that they are included on a special whitelist, guaranteeing uninteruptable delivery of their messages to Hotmail and MSN users. You can catch the full article at Excite. I especially like the nice naming for spammers, calling them 'marketers' sounds so much more legitimate."
mgibbs adds "Hopefully the $20K fine that results from abuse of this system is enough to deter spammers."
Mwahahahah (pinkie on lip) (Score:1, Funny)
It's also a list to avoid! (Score:5, Funny)
You know, (Score:4, Funny)
I couldn't think of anything
I guess I'm just not as imaginative as MS.
I'll bet the GMail team is doing a little dance of joy at reading this
FREE VA.LIUM X-A-N-A-X no P R E S C R I P T I O N (Score:4, Funny)
Re:The UK (Score:1, Funny)
So THAT's why Longhorn will require WiFi! (Score:3, Funny)
So, is there any chance that if those features are advertised widely, fewer people will buy Longhorn?
Re:It all makes perfect sense now. (Score:1, Funny)
Those found to be engaging in abusive behavior forfeit a cash bond of up to $20,000, Gillis said.
...
"When you add these up over time, it will be uneconomical to send out spam," said Microsoft spam specialist George Webb.
I like it. If people are allowed to opt out of REQUESTED mail from "legitimate marketers", great. And if the marketers continue to send spam, then I get $20,000, WOOOHOOO!
Somehow this puts me in mind of a proverb (Score:2, Funny)
Seriously, I hope this convinces people to not use Hotmail etc - now with guaranteed spam...
Re:In Denmark it is illegal to send spam! (Score:0, Funny)
Re:Is it me... (Score:1, Funny)
Then again, I'll be getting my own website with my own mail server soon, so then everything I've just said will become entirely obsolete. Like everything in life. Ah well.
Re:But that makes Usenet less useful (Score:2, Funny)
That depends. Often people mention things in their post that aren't really relevant to the newsgroup, so an offline discussion is better.
For instance, just the other day someone spotted my name and emailed me to let me know that a distant relative had died, and left tons of money, which is probably mine to claim. Soon I'll be rich.
off topic, reply to sig (Score:2, Funny)
You've never driven in Pittsburgh.
Re:It's also a list to avoid! (Score:4, Funny)
I know, just look at that feature list. Header forgery. Message obfuscation. Relay and proxy discovery and use. Listwashing.
Oh wait. Those aren't there. It's just really fast. String 'em up anyway, no one's got business sending that much email!