NO MORE SPAM!

The problem of SPAM is really an easy one to solve. It requires only a change to the way e-mail addresses are structured and a bit of effort on the part of users. Therefore I suggest the following strategy for controlling unwanted e-mail.

Under the current system an e-mail address is structured like this: iverj@charter.com

This is a standard form for e-mail addresses. I propose modifying the address to add an extension after the final part. The extension would be ignored by the internet routing system and would simply send it to the address that precedes it. The extension would be anything a user wanted it to be as the routers would ignore anything following the ".com" portion of the address.
However, once it got to a users computer, the extension would be considered and if it passes muster, the e-mail message would get passed on to be read. If it does not pass muster, it would be deleted or better yet returned to the sender.
In order for this to work, each user would have an e-mail program, such as "MS Outlook" which would allow the user to add any desired extension to a given message. Thus when I give my sister my e-mail address I might put something like "sistersue" after the e-mail address. I would tell her to e-mail me at iverj@charter.com.sistersue and when I do this I automatically add this extension to a list on my Outlook Express. Now when ever I get a message with that extension it gets through and I get to read it. If she gives it to her daughter, her daughter can e-mail me also. I wouldn’t care but I would know where my niece got my e-mail address. Of course if my sister were to give my e-mail address to an insurance salesman who contacted me using that e-mail address, I could simply remove it from the system. I would contact my sister and tell her "don’t ever give my e-mail address to a salesman again." I could then give her a new e-mail address such as iverj@charter.com.donotgivethisoutagain!

Note that I can give each person I want to have my e-mail address a different extension. If they give it to friends, fine. If they give it to someone they should not give it to I can chew them out and change their extension. Simple.

In addition to friends, however, it is also convenient to give out my e-mail to businesses so they can provide me with information I want and request. It would work the same way except the system would allow a set of rules to be applied. These rules would allow an extension to be passed through an unlimited number of times, such as when I give an address to my sister, or it would allow a given extension to be passed through once (or a specified number of times) then would be deleted, or would allow a given extension to be passed through for a specified period of time, say three months. This way when I e-mail a company and ask for info, I would allow a single response. If I am interested in getting updates from the company I might allow a given extension to pass through for several months or for any period of time I specify.
To make the system work easily it would need to be a part of the e-mail program. When I compose an e-mail one of the boxes at the top along with the TO box and the SUBJECT box would be an EXTENSION box. When I put an extension in, it will ask what rules apply. I would simply click UNLIMITED if it were a message to my sister, or click NUMBER OF RESPONSES then enter a number if it is a request for info from a business, or perhaps click UNTIL then input a date if I want to receive e-mail from the recipient for a period of time. The e-mail program would then add the extension to my return address and add the extension to the list of acceptable extensions together with the applicable rules I specified.

The extension is out in the open. Anyone can see it. It could be anything. Any word or number or combination of numbers and letters or symbols and of any length. If a SPAMer figures out a working extension, I can simply remove that extension and they can’t get through again. Of course I the user would have the option of simply turning the extension filter off and allowing any e-mail to get through. It would be my choice and I would control who can contact me and who can’t.