• by Masha Geller , March 25, 2003

Before I get into the issue of the day, a quick announcement. As we've done many times in the past, MediaPost has again arranged for our readers to receive a 20% discount to AD:TECH San Francisco, June 16-18. There are a lot of conferences out there, but after all these years we still think this is the one show everyone in this industry should make an effort to attend. As traditional media folks make a point of going to the AAAA Media Conference every year, so should online advertising professionals show up at AD:TECH. So sign up and we'll see you there. Scroll down for details.

That said, Reuters reported today that for almost two weeks now, Microsoft has been limiting the number of emails their Hotmail users can send in a 24-hour period to 100. According to the company spokeswoman Reuters quoted in the story, the 100-email limit is "well within the level" of how many emails an average person sends a day. Reportedly, paying users of MSN's Internet-access services have no email limitations.

While Reuters was very excited about this new anti-spam measure, I think this new limit will be as effective in fighting spam as a cold compress on a cancer sore. Considering that in the last two weeks the spam coming into my inbox has actually increased (it's not just Viagra and home loans anymore, it's war-related spam, too, which I think is disgusting), I think Microsoft should seriously consider limiting the sending powers of their paying customers, too, as should every ISP out there, and making it about money and lots of it.

I used to be one of those people who'd bite the heads off those who proposed charging marketers on a per-email basis. I used to believe in survival of the fittest emailers. I honestly thought that spammers would eventually go away on their own. Not anymore. The situation has gotten so bad that I've changed my tune. According to Brightmail, an anti-spam software maker, at least two of every five messages sent over the web are spam. I say charge them all an arm and a leg unless they can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the email they're sending is legitimate.

The government is too slow in coming up with a solution. It'll take years, if not decades, for them to do anything effective. It's up to the ISPs. They're the only ones who can help us make it prohibitively expensive to send spam. Call me naïve, but it can't be impossible. Your thoughts? I've opened a discussion on the Spin Board so let me know what you think.

That's enough out of me. Here's how to register and receive your AD:TECH discount*:
1. Go to http://www.ad-tech.com/register.asp
2. Enter your contact information.
3. When prompted for a Source Code, enter 23SF02
4. Select Full Conference as your registration package and complete the registration process. Your discount will automatically be calculated.
* Discount does not apply if you have already registered for AD:TECH.