Battle Stations Guys

[1stgen4evr]

I know this is politics and maybe needs to be in that section but I have read some of those posts and don't want to comment there. Also, this is a direct affront to our ability to talk trucks.



You may have been on your computer last night and didn't see the news. Some politician has proposed that there be a charge on emails. Now I don't know how the govt could collect the funds but if there is a way, they would figure it out.



The thought makes me want to puke.



Eternal vigilance.



1stgen4evr

james

 

[Paychk]

Sounds like this maybe:



http://www.snopes.com/business/taxes/bill602p.asp



What source do you have for this?



Thanks!

 

[tugboatphil]

It was an interview that Bill Gates gave, but don't know where. It made the network news on the radio today.

 

[CDegner]

This has been an urban legend for years but now, apparently, they are trying to figure something out. It is all over the papers today.



BTW, I have not read the articles yet to learn what they are saying.



Carl

 

[sparks57]

Maybe it's a ploy to stop spam? If they charged $. 05 per e-mail, spam would go out of business.



It might be worth it since I don't e-mail much!

 

[Paychk]

Here is some info:



http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/nation/7785279.htm



http://www.sswug.org/columnists/editorial.asp?id=330

 

[RobertBolinger]

It is a legit story-folks at Microsoft throwing out some ideas on how to combat spam-face it if you and I had to pay one cent for each message no big deal, but spammers who send millions of messages daily, it would curb their appetite. Another possibly (more palatable) is to have the sending CPU perform some calculation that might take 10 seconds on a single PC-but would impede spammers because they would have to have hundreds or thousands of PC just to perform the calculation-I like that one better

 

[dpuckett]

I dont want any taxes on any of it. Face it, had it not been for the internet, I would not be where I am today (though that wouldnt be totally BAD). I would rather hit my DELETE button for a few emails, or pay $15 a year for my local provider to filter spam than have a tax on the emails I send and receive in an effort to stop spam. BTW- whatever became of REAL SPAM? Though that needs eliminated as well.



Believe me, if there is a way to tax us out of our money, the GOVT will find a way.



Daniel

 

[DJW]

Of Tax on E-Mail etc. during WW2 in Britain, the joke was, the Gov. was thinking of putting a Tax on Love to aid the War effort, (no Crap) or at least, Taxing anything that was Free. Skits of females asking escorts to produce Ration Stamps for a Kiss, for futher Favours, probably take the Whole Book. Of Junk E-Mails I called MSN up to protest the amount of such, they said they had no control over it, I told the answer that I was not blaming him personally, but the company was too Cheap to solve the problem. Also informed him, that to the rest of the World, our Consumers' Electronics was in the Stone Age. My sons told me such, plus when overseas viewing Consumer Electronics in stores told by the sales staff, American Electronics was Primative. The cap came a few months ago when on the Financial page (incidently the Only True page in any newspaper) that American consumers' cell phones were obsolete, as for years the rest of the World was able to send and recieve E-Mails through their home computers, although the down side was, it could be hacked. On watching news from Africa, I saw a Native, real bush type, Loin Cloth and all, using a Cell phone in the Jungle, when we only had the 100 yard or so type, years before we caught up. For this, I only Hope, that our Military have better than our domestic. Of Gov. Police etc, by paying Taxes for same, why should we have to pay to stop Unsolicited Junk Anything. A fustrated American, residing in the USA, E-Mailed threats to a canadian (small type intended) Spammer, and now have to appear in Court for same, and if convicted, a sure verdict by all accounts, could be Jailed for years, courtesy of AMERICAN TAX MONEY. Total Crap, Americans Fighting Overseas to give others Freedom, and we can't Protect Ourselves in Our Own Country. What Price Justice? Let's Stop Fighting among ourselves, it's the Enemy Within we Must Defeat. God Bless America. Scrum Down.

 

[klenger]

If there was a tax or fee on emails sent, what would happen when you get a virus that starts sending out emails w/o yoiur knowledge? One of the viruses that's out now desn't even use you email program, so you have no record of sent mail. What do you do at the end of the month if you get a $1000 bill for email you never intended to send.

 

[JR2]

I don't think it was going to be a government tax, it would be something that your ISP charged for emails. I don't see what a 1 cent charge would hurt and it may cut down on SPAM. The only problem is that I see spammer getting around it by using your account to send a million emails and letting you foot the bill.

 

[1stgen4evr]

I don't see what a 1 cent charge would hurt

Me either but I remember when a post card was one cent. If there is ANY charge, you can bet there will be more and more and more and- - - -. So I say don't let it start.



And I certainly don't like the junk emails but I can delete then. Once started, no one will be able to delete the charges.



Indeed how will one know who sent the email if it is commandeered by a virus progeam. You can bet on who will get the bill.



But thanks guys for all the comment. I only hope that the politicians can't figure out how to tack it on.



I repeat, eternal vigilance.



1stgen4evr

James

 

[BCook1]

Consider this.

It is unlikely that the federal intelligence organizations will allow taxing of emails. The Internet was built by the government. It is perceived as free by many users and is therefore chosen over other forms of long distance communications. Use of it is also considered anonymous - which it is anything but. The Internet will not be taxed because it will drive people away from its' use and therefor make their communications less easy to scrutinize. Everything you have ever looked at or sent was stored in a server somewhere at some time - it may still be. Wireless communication is just as good. A cheap scanner will let you listen to all nearby cell phones and handheld remote phones as well as two way radios. Convenience at the cost of privacy. For most it doesn't matter because we didn't just buy a bunch of fertilizer and are now searching the web for the White House floor plan but for some... . Credit cards are great for tracking behavior as well. Every one of those swipes registers the information with a server somewhere - telephone or Internet. We can all be watched very closely - don't worry, most of us are not important enough.

 

[mainer]

I'd be against it even if it were 1 cent per e-mail. They'd have it up to a buck within 5 years, and that wouldn't begin to cover the costs incurred by mismanagement of the charge/collection system.