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Re: [Asrg] Legal Suggestions ....

2003-04-14 20:14:26
On Mon, Apr 14, 2003 at 01:53:34AM +0100, Steven G. Willis wrote

This is a very good point to consider. At the very least, any blocking
systems in place must have a means available for individual users to
review what is being blocked and what affect this has on traffic into
their email account(s). Without this provision, the variability of
the definition of spam will continue to remain a contentious issue
with no resolution.

I shoudl say, this does _not_ in _any_ way mean I condone actions of
the spammers. What I am trying to make clear is that each individual
with an email address will make their own judgements on what is spam
and what is not. This means the facilities must be made available for
each individual to make these choices as they see fit best to make.

  Many people on this list run their own personal SMTPservers.  I don't
quite feel up to that level.  But I do have an account at an ISP with a
modified Qmail system that allows end-users to set up filter-config
files that are parsed and excuted during the SMTP transaction.  This
allows me to almost totally eradicate inbound spam.

  Consider Joe Sixpack.  Is he going to be able to log in to a shell,
fire up vim, and edit the filter file ?  This requires knowing about
DNSbls, rDNS, CIDRs, how to parse headers on received spam, how to use
whois to find the entire address space of a spamming outfit, etc, etc.

  In most cases that is way over his head.  The average person is *NOT*
a geek on our level, remember that.  He basically gets to choose
between ISPs that filter spam, and those that don't.  I don't watch
infommercial TV at 2:30 AM, but I have no objection to willing viewers
being allowed to do so.  I don't object if anybody who wants to, sets up
an unfiltered ISP and advertises it as such.  I hope he makes millions
as all those spam-starved customers drop their current ISPs and join his
outfit after they hear about all those "exciting offers" they've been
missing.

  What worries me is the back-door astro-turf campaign to outlaw DNSbls,
led by the JamSpamDownYourThroat initiative.

-- 
Walter Dnes <waltdnes(_at_)waltdnes(_dot_)org>
An infinite number of monkeys pounding away on keyboards will
eventually produce a report showing that Windows is more secure,
and has a lower TCO, than linux.
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