SpamCon set to can spam

SpamCon, an organisation which intends to protect email as a communications and marketing vehicle on the web, has been launched.

The foundation, which can be accessed at www.Spamcon.com, is the brainchild of Tom Geller, president and executive director, and director of industry affairs at The Coalition Against Unsolicited Commercial E-Mail.

"Spam has grown partly because users, network administrators and responsible marketers have fought it in different ways, even when their ultimate goals are the same," said Geller.

He also said the SpamCon Foundation has integrated 'The Suespammers Project's' legal resources, created an email discussion group about email marketing issues, and developed a collaborative relationship with internet administrators and marketers to begin addressing the issue of spam.

The SpamCon Foundation, which was announced in June, has produced a searchable database of more than 7000 media stories about Spam over the past four years, through a collaborative venture with Spam News.

Geller is joined by the company's treasurer, Ted Gavin, the author of an official paper on email marketing for the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which receives about 17,000 pieces of unsolicited commercial email per day, is gearing up to enforce any laws Congress may pass this year, despite its support of industry self-regulation over federal laws.

"We would rather the industry take a crack at it first," said Jennifer Mandigo, a staff attorney at the FTC.