An AOL Watch reader sends their thoughts on AOL's spam crisis...

Despite the highly publicized victories against spammers, my mailboxes on AOL keep getting fuller and fuller lately. An email promoting Hustler spammed its way to me about 30 times in the past week from almost as many return addresses.

AOL asks its members to spend their online time playing detective to uncover the origin of the spam and then spend more time writing the postmasters of the domains. What a grand online experience this is turning out to be!

A SIMPLE SUGGESTION .....

I have just written to Mr. Case the following suggestion ...... As a way to retain customers, make their online time more productive, and more effectively fight the onslaught of spam, AOL should add a free customer service of postmaster-abuse notification for every spam email a subscriber forwards to AOL.

Instead, we are asked to block entire domains (tell me, what domain is untouched by spam originators?), perform complicated hunts to decipher originators, write polite letters and then enjoy whatever few minutes we have left to be online. Since AOL is the unquestioned master of formatted letters, it seems they could more efficiently and effectively fight this battle than their beleaguered subscribers.

SO.....

I am spouting this off to you because you present a respected forum for dissent among us. Feel free to use, borrow from, twist or add to my commentary in any way you feel would be productive, but please leave my personal identification off any attribution.

Would you like to me forward you any response I get from "Steve Case" for the plea I described here? I think we both can already predict the form letter that will be issued in his name, but what the hell .....

Thanks for your insightful newsletter!