Allan Poindexter wrote:
Matthew> so would you consider as it is my network, that I should Matthew> not be allowed to impose these 'draconian' methods and Matthew> perhaps I shouldn't be allowed to censor traffic to and Matthew> from my networks?
If you want to run a network off in the corner by yourself this is fine. If you have agreed to participate in the Internet you have an obligation to deliver your traffic.
In many cases, that is a gross overgeneralization. Do you think anyone really wanted the Slammer worm, or complained when ISP's blocked it? I work for a company that is contractually obligated to NOT carry certain traffic for our clients.
the users got it wrong some small percentage amount of the time. I was stunned at the arrogance and presumption in that comment. You can't tell from looking at the contents, source, or destination if something is spam because none of these things can tell whether the message was requested or is wanted by the recipient. The recipient is the only person who can determine these things.
You're right. But... So what? Perhaps it's because you're seeing things from an academic point of view and not from a business point of view, but your post mention nothing about contracts. People generally use DNSBLs without any formal agreement as to what they should expect. Without any formal agreement, you really can't talk about "obligations to deliver traffic." In this case, your recourse is to not use the DNSBL. If you're mailing someone who has a DNSBL, you (as the sender) have *no* recourse other than to complain to the DNSBL user. Plus, as I pointed out earlier, some people contract with service providers to prevent certain traffic from getting to their networks (not just spam, either).
There are simple solutions to this. They do work in spite of the moanings of the hand wringers. In the meantime my patience with email "lost" silently due to blacklists, etc. is growing thin.
You're certainly welcome to encourage others not to use blacklists. Just understand that you have no right to complain when they decide to continue using those blacklists. Having said that, do understand that I don't think DNSBL's are a panacea, nor are their operators perfect. But in many cases, they can be a useful tool in the anti-spam arsenal. -- Steve Sobol, Professional Geek ** Java/VB/VC/PHP/Perl ** Linux/*BSD/Windows Apple Valley, California PGP:0xE3AE35ED It's all fun and games until someone starts a bonfire in the living room.