Guest guest Posted March 28, 2004 Report Share Posted March 28, 2004 Now We Get to Pay..... No More Free Email! Essentially it is a Tax on Email Email Alert of the Week: --Federal Bill 602P-Mail Charge Guess the warnings were true. Federal Bill 602P charges 5-cents per E-mail sent. It figures! No more free E-mail! We knew this was coming!! Bill 602P will permit the Federal Government to charge a 5-cent charge on every delivered E-mail. Please read the following carefully if you intend to stay online and continue using E-mail. The last few months have revealed an alarming trend in the Government of the United States attempting to quietly push through legislation that will affect our use of the Internet. Under proposed legislation, the US Postal Service will be attempting to bill E-mail users out of "alternative postage fees." Bill 602P will permit the Federal Government to charge a 5-cent surcharge on every e-mail delivered, by billing Internet Service Providers at source. The consumer would then be billed in turn by the ISP. Washington, DC lawyer Richard Stepp is working without pay to prevent this legislation from becoming law. The US Postal Service is claiming lost revenue, due to the proliferation of E-mail, is costing nearly $230,000,000 in revenue per year. You may have noticed their recent ad campaign: "There is nothing like a letter." Since the average person received about 10 pieces of E-mail per day in 1998, the cost of the typical individual would be an additional 50 cents a day -- or over $180 per year -- above and beyond their regular internet costs. Note that this would be money paid directly to the US Postal Service or a service they do not even provide.The whole point of the Internet is democracy and noninterference. You are already paying an exorbitant price for snail mail because of bureaucratic inefficiency. It currently takes up to 6 days for a letter to be delivered from coast to coast. If the US Postal Service is allowed to tinker with E-mail, it will mark the end of the "free" internet in the United States. Congressional representative, Tony Schnell ® has even suggested a "$20-$40 per month surcharge on all Internet service" above and beyond the governments proposed E-mail charges. Note that most of the major newspapers have ignored the story the only exception being the Washingtonian which called the idea of E-mail surcharge "a useful concept who's time has come" (March 6th, 1999 Editorial). Do not sit by and watch your freedom erode away! Send this E-mail to EVERYONE on your list, and tell all your friends and relatives to write their congressional representative and say "NO" to Bill 602P. It will only take a few moments of your time and could very well be instrumental in killing a bill we do not want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theist Posted March 28, 2004 Report Share Posted March 28, 2004 TAXMAN Let me tell you how it will be There’s one for you, nineteen for me ’cause I’m the taxman, yeah, I’m the taxman Should five per cent appear too small Be thankful I don’t take it all ’cause I’m the taxman, yeah I’m the taxman If you drive a car, I’ll tax the street, If you try to sit, I’ll tax your seat. If you get too cold I’ll tax the heat, If you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet. Don’t ask me what I want it for If you don’t want to pay some more ’cause I’m the taxman, yeah, I’m the taxman Now my advice for those who die Declare the pennies on your eyes ’cause I’m the taxman, yeah, I’m the taxman And you’re working for no one but me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonehearted Posted March 28, 2004 Report Share Posted March 28, 2004 This is a widely-known hoax. Anyone at all familiar with federal legislations (from high school!) could tell you that, first, this is not the form a bill's number would have. Bills originated in the House of Representatives begin with H.R., and those originating in the Senate begein seith S. Do a quick Google search, and you'll see this is just another hoax. Check snopes.com or urbanlegends.com. Boy, are we chumps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 28, 2004 Report Share Posted March 28, 2004 apparently that is a hoax email thats been around for years. http://www.nuketown.com/hoaxes/e-mail_ps_charge/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theist Posted March 28, 2004 Report Share Posted March 28, 2004 But I heard a report a few days ago that Bill Gates proposed an e-mail fee as a cure to spam. Who knows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theist Posted March 28, 2004 Report Share Posted March 28, 2004 New Email Stamp System to Stop Spammers Wednesday March 17, 2004 (0230 PST) Microsoft's Chairman Bill Gates E-mail users might soon have to pay for an "e-mail stamp" to send messages so spammers wouldn't be able to misuse the technology for free. Bill Gates, chairman of the Microsoft Corporation, recently suggested implementing an e-mail stamp system to drive spammers out of business. While his recommendation is not a new concept, it pushed the idea of charging e-mail users to send e-mail back into the spotlight. Some experts, such as University computer science professor Ralph Johnson, have agreed that charging a penny or less to send each e-mail would force spammers — who send out millions of e-mails a day — to fold under expenses, while leaving the pocketbooks of normal e-mail users unscathed. "If it was cheap enough and effective, then people would like it," he said. "I hate spam so I would love a stamp system, to see all of my spam gone." Microsoft is prepared to plug this loophole with an alternative stamp system that does not require users to pay a monetary fee. Microsoft spokeswoman Samantha McManus described the company's Coordinated Spam Reduction Initiative as a push for the equivalent of a Caller ID for e-mail inboxes. With this alternate system, an e-mail sender will be asked by the recipient's e-mail server to solve a quick puzzle, such as an elementary math problem or a hidden word image. After the sender solves it, they will be given a "stamp" of approval to e-mail the recipient from then on. Johnson explained that spam companies use automated programs to send e-mails out in massive quantities. Thus, if the e-mail addresses began using puzzles which required human thought to read and solve, it would cripple the automated programs and cease the spammers' operations. But, people are reacting differently to both proposed stamp systems. "I don't need another bill every month. Especially right now, being a student and all," said Oscar Rivera, junior in LAS. "I don't have a problem with just deleting my spam and keeping the e-mail free of charge." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 28, 2004 Report Share Posted March 28, 2004 I'm the one who posted it. I just saw it somewhere today for the first time, and thought it was true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonehearted Posted March 28, 2004 Report Share Posted March 28, 2004 Doesn't look as though Gates is proposing any fees here. Paktimes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theist Posted March 28, 2004 Report Share Posted March 28, 2004 Yeah I just heard a passing blip on cable news tv about it. Went to google after it came up here. What you doubt the Paktimes? I doubt it all, especially the New York times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 28, 2004 Report Share Posted March 28, 2004 I've encountered an anti spam email system allready, i sent an email to someone and i got a reply saying the email couldn't be delivered unless i clicked a link to make sure i wasn't a spammer. doesn't sound very practical for various reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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