spf-discuss
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RE: reputation systems and RHSBLs

2004-06-13 20:16:07
--Seth Goodman <sethg(_at_)GoodmanAssociates(_dot_)com> wrote:

That's the way the successful DNSBL's generally operate.  FWIW, for a
DNSBL to be successful, regardless of whether it is RHS or IP based, you
need to have a few things.  One or two exceptional lists have avoided
some of these, but in general, many lists that don't have these have died:

transparency
evidence-based
non-retaliatory
sufficient bandwidth/geographic redundancy
legal resources
sufficient staff


I have done some thinking about how someone could put together a "distributed reputation system". Here's a brief outline of my idea...

Problem:

Any spam blocking list is either too specific or too small/ineffective to be noticed, or it is effective enough to get spammers to attack/threaten/sue its owners and DDOS its servers into the stone age.

Proposal:

Make a blocking system that:

 * is fed by raw data from its members
   - so that there's not one person or group "making decisions"

 * allows members to show their policies and see others
   - so that users can see what blocks other people actually use

* can sort "policies" such as blocks according to how many use/support them
   - so that effective policies can be quickly adopted by many

 * can customize a list for each user according to his criteria
- so it's not "all or nothing" - the database is not the one "blocking you"

 * is based on signatures and a "web of trust"
- so you can quickly see policies from people you trust and whom they trust

* is massively decentralized, using a distributed storage/transport like NNTP
   - so that anyone can download the source, run it, and
   - bam, a copy of the DB and web site
   - even if the primary site gets bombed into the stone age.

Does this sound interesting to anyone? It's sort of the opposite direction from the reputation system being a Big Company with a Trusted Name, but it could work, especially if members are encouraged to upload their own statistics.

More detailed version here:
http://www.livejournal.com/users/gconnor/105771.html




--
Greg Connor <gconnor(_at_)nekodojo(_dot_)org>