Gee, it's time to dust off my "why e-postage is a bad idea" rant.
Executive summary:
* It depends on an efficient global micropayment system. Despite years of
effort by some very smart people, nobody has a clue how to build one.
* Things that are easy now, like opt-in mailing lists and automatic
forwarding from one address to another become impossible without a
complex scheme that lets each user say who'll they'll accept mail from for
free. Anyone who runs a mailing list knows how excruciating that's gonna
be.
* It turns ISPs into banks, since they would be the agents for dispensing
and collecting e-postage. Being a bank is hard, and requires different
skills from running an ISP.
* It substitutes one set of social problems for another, with no promise
that the new problems are less bad. Just think of what fun e-Klez will
be, when it spends $100 of your money sending out spam before you notice.
Regards,
John Levine, johnl@iecc.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies",
Information Superhighwayman wanna-be, http://iecc.com/johnl, Sewer Commissioner
"I dropped the toothpaste", said Tom, crestfallenly.
Follow-Ups:
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