Proper steps should be taken to control spam
COMMENTARY
Co-News Editor Jessica Sanders is a senior news-editorial journalism major from San Antonio.

In the early days of Internet use, the words “you’ve got mail” made my heart flutter with the anticipation of a good e-mail. A joke from a friend, an interesting article from relatives or perhaps some juicy gossip. A number of gems could be waiting in my inbox.

But these days, checking my e-mail fills me with dread. Each morning, I am greeted with mortgage offers, printer ink promotions and ads to enlarge a body part I don’t have. I guess the honeymoon is over.

I never open the junk e-mails, partly out of fear that I’ll get some sort of virus and partly because they are taking up too much room. Whether or not the product is of any use to me, I am not going to look at it if it shows up unwanted in my e-mail account. I sometimes wonder if there is a guy in a little room making up these weird ads and sending them to unsuspecting people like me. I really hope he doesn’t get paid on commission because it seems that the rest of America doesn’t like spam either.

Congress is considering a bill that would allow the Federal Trade Commission to put limitations on bulk e-mailers, making it more difficult to obtain addresses and practice sneaky tricks such as disguising the sender’s name. It sure would make my morning a little sunnier if I didn’t have to delete so much junk.
However, some believe that such legislation is pointless and impossible. The Internet is international, and it would be difficult to get other countries to comply with U.S. law.

Also, the Internet is a pretty vast place, virtually speaking. Dave Edmondson, assistant provost for information services, said Internet-savvy crooks are always coming up with new ways to avoid detection, and it would be impossible to catch and fine all violators.

However, any improvement that government restrictions may bring would be worth it, Edmondson said. TCU is currently able to block only about 40 percent of spam, so TCU students should see a considerable difference if the legislation is passed, he said.

True, we will never be able to totally eliminate spam ... or bad drivers or shoplifters, for that matter. That doesn’t mean that steps can’t be taken to lessen the irritation to e-mail users. The new legislation offers hope to those who have fallen out of love with e-mail. Perhaps, with the help of the FTC, my relationship with my inbox can be saved.