Bill D -

The obvious problem with the "ok" sytem (apparently already partially implemented by AOL) is that my email will refuse to accept your request for my ok of my email until your email answers my email's request for your ok of your request for my ok of ... lordy won't we all get confused. It is a system that only works as long as only a few people actually use it; but it will choke itself if it ever becomes popular. NOT a good answer.

The REAL problem, as outlined in the article cited, is that SPAM JUNK already accounts for the majority of the traffic on the net, and at it's present rate of growth, doubling every 18 months, it very soon WILL choke out all other traffic. All of the things that individuals now can do, that help a little, will be useless when there is no bandwidth left for the legitimate users. Even if you don't receive any SPAM, you won't be able to send your own email because "the line is busy - 100% of the time."

John