I look forward to the debate, but from my perspective...

The fact that so many smart people have been attracted to this idea over the years is a giant reason it deserves a fair try in real deployment. Finally, there are competing implementations and compelling commercial motivations for adoption.

To prejudge this approach before it can play out in the market -- as in the DearAOL campaign letter -- is a tactic more befitting the reactionary RIAA than the progressive EFF.

Without some novel and effective approaches, spam is killing email. Many alternatives -- whitelist-only acceptance, star chamber blacklists, and often arbitrary content filters -- can be far worse than a transparent, non-discriminatory delivery fee.

A spot in my inbox is not anyone else's entitlement, so a two-tiered Internet is *exactly* what I want: one cheap tier for small-volume mail from desired correspondents, and another costly tier for bulk and spam emailers.

I'd rather have my mailbox filled by the affluent than the effluent.