Forum Moderators: phranque
The ministry's plan is designed to prevent the delivery of spam messages with fake sender information. Under the ministry's Sender Policy Framework, participating portal sites will share e-mail server information.
If the system finds emails that do not meet SPF requirements, the message will automatically be blocked from reaching its destination.
The nation's leading portal sites, such as Naver, Daum, Nate, MSN, Dreamwiz and Empas, have agreed to cooperate with the ministry in cracking down on spam. With the assistance of the Korea Information Security Agency, these sites will work toward completing a database for sharing mail server information by the end of November.
The ministry also plans to bring other, smaller e-mail service providers into the new framework.
Time to upgrade those mailservers, if you haven't already done so
Daum has blocked receiving from hotmail addresses long time ago and makes you jump through 1000 hoops even if you are doing a legimate newsletters to members. its really freakin annoying. Recently, they and some others now CHARGING to group email to anyone with their email address (their members)...EVEN IF THEY OPTED-IN to your newsletter/mailes. I can see this being the kind of thing to come out of this "SPF".
Privacy is a HOT topic (in general, but especially as it pertains to mailings, spam, and id/real names usage)..even and direct mail marketing (opt-in) has felt the burn is effected. Its a national issue so not easy to comment on lightly or briefly. There are 3090000 layers to even a simple move like this...but so I will say.....
imo, its ridiculous. The Korea Information Security Agency is a paranoid sledgehammer way too often used for pushing in tacks, IMO. This "SPF" is bound to be another example of it. I can't wait to get the details on that. :/
Spam IS a problem and working with the portals makes sense ....IF (BIIIG IF) they do so responsibily and with protecting freedoms as well as privacy...but I wouldn't bet on a "reasonable" SPF guidelines being set. I could be so bold as to say they could be "strongarming" (or "suggesting strongly") portals to participate in fact (very very possible).
From the portal side, this consolidation of efforts from the big portals out here is commendable in war vs Spam, but I see it as counter-productive in the global "in the end" sense...because like I said, I can bet that the SPF guidelines will be more constrict legimate business as much as stop spam. And I bet will also just further isolate "the Korean Internet" from the rest of the world getting access to the robust market. Maybe that is what portals WANT to do to degree (reinforce their dominance and uniqueness by keeping outside world OUT)...they like to EXPAND, but they don't like to LET IN. if that makes sense. Its all very "keep it in-house" self serving to be blunt.
There is another thread on privacy issues in Korea here:
Korean Internet--You're not invited [webmasterworld.com]
sorry to sound so cynical on this one...but I see way too much (and bit by too much) of this stuff on the ground floor to not. That is, I'm sure it WILL help the spam problem to a degree (at least in the short term), but I worry about the NEGATIVE ripples and effects this could have in other areas.
The professional spammers added SPF records to their DNS ages ago...before most of us. That spam won't be affected at all.
Interesting. So this is more of a portal initiative rather than a country-wide initiative?
well didn't really mean to say that... its tough to say who initiated...
a lot still happens "under the table" with this kinda a thing here...such that is doesn't matter who started. Everyone's gunna be scratching everyone elses back to some degree. The people's voice ONLINE can be scarey out here as I've alluded to a lot....so it really could be just enough people complaining to whoever "started it" (which is a good thing).
that is...
govt is still the end all power... but portals have the eyes and ears (the channel)..... so being in bed together on this, regardless the actual effect in the longrun, is a good thing in the short-run for everyone.
