Everybody hates spam – the annoying, bulk email messages that plague inboxes that wastes hours and hours of productivity. That’s why one Boston University economics professor, along with a national company, is working on a proactive solution to put an end to the cyber epidemic.
Scholarly research by BU professor Marshall Van Alstyne and work by Vanquish Labs CEO Philip Raymond may provide an answer.
The professors’ so-called Email Accountability Initiative intends to stop spam at its source, making spammers pay a fee if recipients find their bulk message intrusive or bothersome.
“The cost is determined by how many people are trying to reach you and their previous patterns and desires,” Raymond said.
There is no sponsorship for the program other than Raymond and his family.
Spam is seen by many as bothersome, yet spam filters can often be detrimental to businesses sending out mass messages with good intentions. The idea is to weed out spammers, while still allowing useful and necessary mass messages get through.
Raymond said spam filters automatically remove all messages considered spam–all unsolicited communications sent in bulk. As a result, some desirable marketing messages or necessary information often sent in bulk is filtered out as well.
“As an ardent anti-spammer, which I am, I am personally insulted by spam,” Raymond said. “But the problem is that filters aren’t perfect and can’t know what is in your head.”
Because email is cheap to distribute and messages can be easily replicated, spam is a problem for many students. But to add a charge to all bulk messages would be unfair, Raymond said. In order to solve the problem, spam must be redefined.
“Spam is anything that you, personally, wish you had not received,” he said.
Raymond said the sender must be sure that a message is worth sending and that the audience will be receptive. Otherwise, they risk losing money.
If the recipients of bulk messages find them unnecessary, they can click on a blue “penalize” link and a charge will be issued to the email sender. That money will be paid directly to the bothered recipient.
“The sender must meet the instant value of the recipient’s time worth,” Raymond said. “If the recipient doesn’t appreciate the message, then the money [to make up for his time] is transferred to him.”
Vanquish produces plug-in software that is added to the email server, which regulates how well the initiative is carried out.
Vanquish Public Relations manager Peter Greer said the plug-in program has many benefits.
“If you make it financially unprofitable for people to send out junk email, they won’t do it,” he said.
While other spam programs rely on computer science or laws and regulations, Vanquish’s theory, which is already in place in other mediums, including magazines and phones, applies the principles of economics to email.
Greer said the business goal is to marginalize spam and encourage legitimate communication, while the academic goal of the project is to prove the right spam mechanism can be better than a perfect filter.
“You get more mail on topics you want, and less on those you don’t,” Van Alstyne said.
Van Alstyne said the project is a system of trust between the sender and the recipient.
If successful, the program will eliminate spam. Because it is free, it will also be easily accessible.
Students said the plug-in would be convenient and they would be happy to adopt a program that eliminates spam from their computers.
“If the new spam program is effective, that would be great,” College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Rebekka Nodhturft said. “Not because spam is something I waste my time worrying about, but because on principle, I don’t think companies should send spam.”
The biggest benefit of the program, according to other students, is that it would eliminate online scams that are unfair to the masses.
“Many people of low-income or education levels fall victim to scams online,” CAS sophomore Ashley Stephens said. “This spam initiative could eliminate this victimization and save people from additional spam that is warranted upon reply.”
Most students said they felt they would not penalize people for sending them bulk messages.
“I probably wouldn’t charge someone for sending me spam, just because it’s not a big concern of mine and it’s easy enough for me to just delete it,” College of Communication sophomore Jennifer Piotter said.
Other students also disapproved of the “charge-for-spam” initiative.
“If someone doesn’t want to read a message, it only takes them a second or two to hit the delete button,” College of Engineering junior Christopher Marcell said. “There is no reason whatsoever to make someone pay for sending email that some people may find entertaining.”