In 2006, you can't just press a button and have all your spam go away. But you may be able to pay somebody else to press lots of buttons and handle most of your spam for you.

I get asked about this fairly often, but it's hard to answer because I've never worked for a company that relied entirely on a 3rd party product for our spam filtering -- originally because for a long time there weren't any good products, and then later because I've been at places which were way too big. But I wrote this list of criteria earlier today, and thought it'd be worth sharing (and saving for the next time somebody asks.)

This one is "final" because it's what I'm marking down on my absentee ballot as I write it. For more background on my decision process, see this longer guide from a couple weeks ago.

Dear DNC (by which I mean the chasing-the-center-as-it-moves-right wing of the Democratic party),

after capitulating for years to a self-styled "wartime president" (until his ratings went down), you're the last people who should be telling me that the country is headed in the wrong direction -- as if I didn't know. You're also the last people who should be telling me that you wouldn't do all the horrible stuff the Republicans are doing. I still consider you responsible for allowing the pendulum to swing so far to the right.

Sincerely,
someone who will probably end up voting for your candidates anyway
(but won't be happy about it, and will gripe occaisonally on his blog)