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RE: IAB policy on anti-spam mechanisms?

2003-03-01 21:01:47
I also don't want want to insult anyone by stating the obvious fact
that almost no users, whether they are employed by ISPs and have titles
like "super senior network operator guru" or are end users like my Aunt
Millie, have any real idea what "internet transparency" might be.  They
certainly have no clue that it might be as valuable and that it might
be what has made their mailboxes both useful and full of spam.

SPAM is pretty high in the list of things people complain about, but lack of 
transparency is actually one of the top reasons for calling the support line. 
Granted, the average user does not complain that "there is a lack of 
transparency"; it is more in the line of "my favorite application does not 
work" -- where the favorite application is network game, voice over IP, e-mail, 
you name it. And the root cause of the problem, more often than not, will be 
some stupid filtering policy implemented by some obscure corner of the network.
 
That being said, whining about lack of transparency is not going to change the 
behavior of the operators. The IETF should rather do something useful, e.g. 
make sure that IPSEC is easy to deploy...
 
-- Christian Huitema