(Cross-posted to gaygeeks)

The BBC is reporting that a group, called the Anti-Spam Research Group, has been set up by the Internet Research Task Force (which is affiliated to the IETF), to tackle the growing menace of spam.

Personally, spam isn't a problem for me (since I stopped using Hotmail, at least), but it's clear that it is for a lot of other people, and so obviously something needs to be done about it.

The group has only had one meeting so far (in which it decided what spam was), but already they seem to be suggesting that the basic SMTP protocol should be re-engineered to make it more difficult for spammers to operate.

Now that might be one way to stop the flow of spam, but it's not the one I'd choose. How about getting ISPs to make their SMTP servers more secure, so the spammers can't use them? (SMTP does seem to have authentication measures, but I've never come across a server that uses it.) And if ISPs don't comply with this, then hit them with huge fines!

Surely measures like that would be much more feasible that redesigning one of the most heavily used Internet protocols? But I guess that as that would require close cooperation between the ISPs, governments, and law enforcement agencies around the world, I guess we can all look forward to seeing SMTP v2 soon instead.