[extropy-chat] Spam

Spike spike66 at comcast.net
Wed Dec 31 01:44:19 UTC 2003



> -----Original Message-----
> From: extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org 
> [mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of 
> Charlie Stross
> Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2003 2:27 PM
> To: ExI chat list
> Subject: Re: [extropy-chat] Spam
> 
> 
> 
> On 30 Dec 2003, at 21:58, Spike wrote:
> > ...I have been seeing more
> > and more clamor from the bricks and mortar retailing
> > community about how their sales are suffering from
> > tax-free internet competition...
> 
> 
> Sales taxes on goods sold over the net are in any case a non-issue. 
> Here in the EU, goods sold over the internet *are* liable for 
> VAT, and it's damn well collected...

Ja.  Here the sales tax is collected by the states,
not the fed, and each state has different sales tax
laws.  Some have no sales tax, so internet sales orgs
just set up shop there.  Technically Taxifornia
residents are supposed to send sales taxes to Taxamento
on all internet purchases.  The 30 million citizens
of this state sent them a total of something like a 
dollar 38 cents last year.  I don't even know how to 
pay that.  Who would I send it to?  Would they know 
what to do with a check?  Im tempted to get a bunch of 
guys to bury them in checks for 30, 70, 50 cents.  Tease
em a little.  {8^D

> 
> Now, if you're saying that conventional retailers are paying spammers 
> to mess up the net, I find that rather hard to believe. If so, it's 
> almost certainly a serious crime, no?
> 
> 
> -- Charlie

Not that I know of, perhaps so.  Seems to me that would
be perfectly legal First Amendment stuff.  

As a thought experiment, ignore the means and list those
who would have the motive to mess up the internet, or whose
lives may have been better off without it:

Bricks'n'mortar merchants

Anyone who sells primarily information, such as
	Ministers
	Publishers
	Real estate professionals
	Teachers (some of them)
	Stock and investment advisers (why pay for that which is free?)

Old time scammers (the internet exposes them)

Pedophiles (the internet tells where they live)

Anyone with a criminal record (makes it easy for anyone to find out)

Pornographers (no need to pay for that which is free in sufficient 
quantities that it could never be consumed if one were to do nothing
but gaze at porno 24-7-52)

Anyone who doesn't use the internet

Others?

There are plenty of people who would like to see
the internet slain, perhaps as many as half.

spike
	





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