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Re: Proposed PGP mechanism and de-spamming Usenet - a job for SPF?

2004-01-18 21:58:17
In 
<200401190422(_dot_)08943(_dot_)dan(_at_)boresjo(_dot_)demon(_dot_)co(_dot_)uk> 
Dan Boresjo <dan(_at_)boresjo(_dot_)demon(_dot_)co(_dot_)uk> writes:

Thinking along these lines suggests to me that we are taking too
narrow a view of the forwarding problem with SRS. Is it possible for
SPF to rescue usenet too?.


I've thought about this, and I started writing a long rant about it.
However, my conclusion was basically "there is nothing really that we
can learn from Usenet spam" due to the differences in the nature of
email vs Usenet.

I'll skip the boring rant and just summarize the critical differences:

The Usenet spam problem (outside of alt) is almost gone now a days.

The email spam problem is getting much worse.


Usenet is an almost pure store-and-forward system with each node
having a limited and very control set of other nodes that it will
communicate with.

Modern SMTP email is an almost pure mesh network, where every MTA can
connect to any other MTA, with very little control over who connects
to who.  (The exceptions are MTAs inside the sending/receiving
networks and forwarders.)

Conclusion:  Usenet is able to apply much more pressure on nodes and
their upstreams


Usenet has an audit trail, via the path header that can easily be used
to control the acceptance and transmission of any given message on
each node.

Email has an audit trail via the received headers, but it is extremely
hard to use them.

Conclusion:  Blacklisting is easier and far more effective on Usenet.


Usenet posts are public.  

Email messages are private.  

Conclusion:  On Usenet, it is far easier to see the bad apples, reach
consensus and react.


Usenet has the ability to globally cancel messages (via the cancel
control message or via NoCeM).

Email has no ability to cancel any message once it has left the MTA.

Conclusion:  Usenet has a bigger mallet available to LART with.



Geez, this "summary" has gotten way too long.  Sorry.



-wayne





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