The Emergent Fool

Centmail: Fighting Spam With E-Mail Postage Stamps

Posted by danielhorowitz in Cooperation, Economics, Incentives on June 23rd, 2009 | View Comments

Who wants to pay for email? You just might. Many people have suggested that adding a nominal cost to e-mail would serve to fight spam by rendering it largely unprofitable. With Centmail, some Yahoo researchers propose adding a penny postage stamp to each e-mail, representing a penny donation to charity. Since most people already donate to charity, it is not believed that this idea will actually cost anything.

In an effort to make Centmail a reality, a formal protocol and API has already been developed. While I am somewhat worried that a large-scale adoption of the protocol will incentivize significant non-profit and charitable fraud, the economic burden due to spam should be greatly reduced. It’s a cool idea by good people and I urge you to check it out.

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acebailey

I remember in about 1972 when my grandmother was visiting from England that we got a telemarketing call and she commented “Well at home you pay for every call so this sort of thing wouldn’t happen” Maybe she was onto something!
DennisP

Seems to me a better way is to pay the recipient. If he finds your email worthless, at least you’ve paid him a bit for his time. On the other hand, if he replies to you, your net cost (and his) really is zero.
danielhorowitz

Yes, if we look at attention as the commodity then paying the recipient model has merit.
Daniel Carrera

Paying the recipient leaves no incentive for senders to join, therefore, it is unlikely to reach a critical mass. Furthermore, paying the recipient invites spammers to steal your money by making your computer send emails to them.
danielhorowitz

Hi Daniel -

Good points. There is no incentive for senders to join the pay-the-recipient model. (I needed to read the paper again)

Thanks.
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