HOW much spam?

I went away for a weekend, and in just two-and-a-half days, I received 487 spams. *487!*

I had turned off spam pre-filtering, but still… 487 spams. Even when my main spam filter (SpamNet) is activated, 30% of spams still get through and at least 5-10% of my non-spam e-mails are marked as spam, so it’s a lose-lose situation.

I wish I knew what the right solution would be.

Is it technical? Could we conceivably charge people one-tenth of a cent for every e-mail they send? Or perhaps charge senders $1 by default, unless they are listed in our addressbook or we affirmatively waive the fee?

Or are legal moves (at the federal level) the answer? Would spamming be a civil offense? Criminal offense? And what would the degree of ‘consent’ look like?

Definitely no easy answers 🙁