Cyprus Mail reports that environmental commissioner turned his attention towards piles of SPAM – advertising leaflets distributed by numerous companies to people’s house, mailboxes, and cars. The initiative to regulate this is very welcome. However:
Theopemptou insists that a law should be passed to regulate leaflet distribution in streets, cars and post boxes in order to protect the public and prevent the pile-up of waste. One possible measure he recommended was the creation of a special stamp that people could put on their cars, which would indicate that they do not wish to receive advertising material.
I think that SPAM should be opt in, not opt out. In other words, it’s the people who WISH to receive the advertising leaflets should indicate that they want to, not the other way around. You can see how well it works in email vs. RSS and Twitter. In emails, people just send you loads of junk with an option to unsubscribe from it. First of all, you already received the junk. Secondly, you need to receive the junk to get an option to unsubscribe. That’s just not fair. It doesn’t work. Opt out. In RSS and Twitter it’s the opt in. You don’t get anything until you actually subscribe or follow. Which is all up to you. And that’s how it should be.