Why does this group have so much spam?

[Terry Reedy]

David wrote:
>
> I'm not saying that criminals shouldn't being prosecuted, but we are talking
> of something else: creating and environment that discurages criminals,
> because present enviroment is pretty wild and criminals have a big
> advantage.
> The mail-tax proposal aims to change this situation.

I have read at least one person saying he did not mind his machine being 
used to send out spam. I have read more that one person advocating 
leaving one's wi-fi base open for anyone to use as the 'neighborly' 
thing to do.

A substantial fraction of people have turned off Window's update. 
Consequently, whenever Microsoft announces a vulnerablility and patch, 
malware writers can write an exploit of the announced vulnerability and 
be sure that they will find vulnerable machines.

All the above are contributors to the problem and are externalizing some 
of the proper cost of ownership and operation of a net-connected computer.

tjr