(Again, at Smirk's house, as Casa New Jersey is still without Internet [1])
I just had this idea, both wonderful and terrifying while wading through the throngs of spam infesting my inbox promising to increase my mortgage by three inches.
The perception I get (and I'm feeling too lazy to do any real research on this) is that a lot of recent legislation has been passed “for the children” or to “protect our kids” from various nefarious minions out there wanting to harm them. And above all, we must protect our kids from S-E-X. To keep them innocent, you know.
So here I am, looking at the umpteenth “Guarantee 15 mins Longer with V1@gRa” spam, and the idea suddenly hits me—go after spammers “for the kids!” Who in their right minds would want precious Isabella and Christopher to sully their innocent eyes with email that has a subject line of “Raise ejaculation volume” or “Boost up your erection!” or even “H0t Teen L3sbi@n S3X!!!!!!!”? Go after these villainous scofflaws for violating the sanctity of our children's eyes (not to mention their tabula rasaesque minds) and maybe we can reclaim our email as well.
And that's why it's so scary—because this might very well work and embolden even more draconian laws “for the children.” Or worse, spammers will adapt and starting shilling DVDs of Barney and the Teletubbies.
Shudder.