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Search Engine Execs Launch Spam Solution
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Affini launched its initial phase of service as the first easy-to-use,
complete solution to the spam problem -- one that empowers both
recipients and senders of desirable email communication -- while
safeguarding identity and privacy.
Under development for over 18 months by a team of messaging, security,
and search experts, Affini combines proprietary search and email
technology with the principles of free market economics. Affini
offers the first true business solution to the biggest problem of
the Internet -- spam -- which has frustrated an industry and a public
too focused on technical and legal solutions.
A Business Solution to a Technical and Legal Problem
Affini founder and CEO William I. Chang, Ph.D., was the former
CTO and Vice President of Strategy of the Internet search engine
Infoseek which became a part of Disney's GO Network. Dr. Chang and
his close advisor, ReplayTV founder and former Napster CTO Eddie
Kessler, together hold eleven issued and four pending patents and
an unmatched experience growing Internet companies to tens of millions
of users.
"What is needed is an entirely new way of looking at the problem,"
according to Dr. Chang, who first conceived the idea in early 2003.
Affini will filter email by allowing only messages from identified
and approved senders. In addition, members can opt-in to receive
highly targeted commercial messages, for which they receive a small
fee, charged to the sender as a deterrent to spam. Legitimate senders,
individual or commercial, will offer the price of a phone call or
postcard to successfully reach Affini members. Spammers will not
identify themselves and are unwilling to pay reasonable fees to
send their messages. Restoring Integrity to Email and the Internet
by Identifying Senders
A key prerequisite to applying the forces of market economics is
identifying the players and holding them accountable for their acts.
Members of Affini: A Network of Trust establish their Internet identity
as legitimate senders of email, and require sender identification
from those who wish to contact them. Affini members play a key role
in building a strong Network of Trust by vouching for friends, family,
colleagues, and other trusted senders, including mailing lists and
company domains. The Affini reputation of members as well as nonmembers
will become an enabling factor in stopping spam for everyone.
"Affini is really applying the Golden Rule - if you wish to
have your rights respected by others, then you must respect their
rights too," said Kessler. "If enough people sign up to
identify themselves and vouch for their friends, someone who refuses
to be identified will be left out. This will revolutionize the Internet
to everyone's benefit, except the spammer's."
A Future Internet That is More Safe, Connected, and Useful
Affini has addressed not only the challenging task of stopping
spam from reaching recipients, but the far more devastating collateral
damage due to spam: trust on the Internet has been decimated; many
people have abandoned their long-held email addresses, or else adopted
over-zealous spam filters. As a result, it has become increasingly
difficult and often impossible to find and reach people using the
Internet, leading to lost opportunities such as jobs. By making
it safe to have one's email address known publicly, and by enabling
legitimate senders to successfully contact Affini members, Affini
has created a more open and connected Internet where more people
can come together to share their knowledge.
"We all find it incredibly frustrating not to be able to reach
people we know," Dr. Chang professed. "And we all feel
the same indignity when crimes are committed in our names through
email identity theft, which can potentially tarnish our reputation
-- or worse. And we will remain powerless unless we band together
to form A Network of Trust."
How It Works
Affini members receive a public affini.net email address that is
protected from viruses and spam; allowed messages are forwarded
to their existing email address. Affini members with POP3 mailboxes
may use the Affini Butler service which checks the mailbox and removes
viruses and spam. Multiple mailboxes can all be protected and rerouted
to a single consolidated mailbox.
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