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Re: [Asrg] Walter's comments on draft-church-dnsbl-harmful-01.txt

2006-04-01 22:20:54
On Apr 1,  6:15pm, Seth Breidbart wrote:
} Subject: Re: [Asrg] Walter's comments on draft-church-dnsbl-harmful-01.txt
}
} Bart Schaefer <schaefer(_at_)brasslantern(_dot_)com> wrote:
} 
} > If you want a restaurant analogy: It's like a restaurant hiring a
} > goon and giving him a yearbook so he can turn away all local
} > high-schoolers, because a couple of them once vandalized a restroom.
} 
} What is the "it" you're referring to?

Blocking mail by checking a DNSBL that lists IP ranges wherein some of
the IPs have been spam sources.

} The DNSBL publisher is like the yearbook publisher in that example;

Yes.

} it just publishes data.

Not precisely; in contrast to most DNSBLs, the yearbook publisher
doesn't advertise the book with a description that reads, "Pictures of
people you might want to keep out of your place of business."

However, I'm not making value judgements here, just analogies.

} The restaurant owner is like the mailswerver owner.

Right.  The restaurant owner could do a lot better with, say, a police
mugbook of known street gang members, but he doesn't have one, or maybe
his other patrons just don't like dining with teenagers anyway.

To carry the analogy further, requiring DSL customers to send mail via
their ISP server is like allowing the kids into the restaurant only if
accompanied by their parents.  Some of the kids, and maybe even some of
the parents, are going to complain.  The Church draft, in effect, argues
that those complaints are enough reason to disparage the whole practice.

I believe that's a misconception, but I don't believe that the counter-
arguments should be based on *different* misconceptions.

} One key difference in the US is that the mailserver owners is
} _specifically_ permitted by law to take whatever action _he_ thinks
} is appropriate to block unwanted email.

True, and not a bad thing either, but not really relevant to whether
some of those actions make DNSBLs in general "harmful."

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