4 ms·
Any system that runs off anonymous messages is going to have a spam problem. There isn't anything special about how email is designed that enables spam past tha
by upofadown 5y ago
Any system that runs off anonymous messages is going to have a spam problem. There isn't anything special about how email is designed that enables spam past that. If you were to design a new system you would have to have signed messages. But we could just do that now with email.
It isn't a design choice, it is a choice that we make every time we send an unsigned email.
- creeble 5y agoI think this is the essential fact, thanks for posting. Lots of people complain about the “insecurity” of email, but as long as you want this feature (sending anyone a message knowing nothing more than just their email address), there will always be spam. And if this is a feature you can do without, then there are lots of alternative communication systems, or you can always use signatures in email.
- geocrasher 5y agoYes, it was a design choice made in the early 1970's before public key cryptography was even invented. And that's why it's broken and always will be. This is why email needs to go away completely. But then again, there are still laws on the books saying the only way to securely transmit a document is by fax machine. So even if somebody reinvents a backwards compatible email system tomorrow that solves all the problems, people will be to afraid to use it.
- upofadown 5y agoHTTP was invented before SSL/TLS. Does that mean that the web needs to go away completely?