At 12:59 AM 12/22/1998 -0500, you wrote:
I begin to think you're being _wilfully perverse_ in your misunderstandings of things people state clearly.
Let me clarify things then. First he said he RBL'ed them "in the first 6 months of the RBL". Now they are RBL supporters. Then read the "makes no effort" The so-called "effort" here is really just "cooperation" with Paul Vixie. I'm not the only one concerned about coercion by the RBL. I know I'm not the only one concerned that the use of this coercion is capricious and unpredictable, and changes depending on Paul's moods and own interests. This was demonstrated quite clearly with the abandonment of rules to essentially blackmail NetSol into cooperation. The bottom line is that the RBL is a powerful hammer, and the person in control is inclined to act capriciously without concern for anyone else or even follow his own rules about their "permitted activities" as he originally defined them in the pages on qualification for the RBL. Thats an operational problem. I think we either need to take the hammer away from Paul and give it to someone more even handed and fair about the application of the rules, or stop using the hammer altogether. The latter alternative is unlikely. I have argued in the past that the RBL will not acheive its desired goals. And I don't think it will, or has. But I don't deny it certainly does have effective power to coerce and influence the industry. It can clearly move big players like earthlink and others. I can live by whatever rules as long as they are evenly applied to everyone else. I can't live with a powerful instrument like the RBL which is applied capriciously at Pauls apparent whim. I think others agree with this. --Dean ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Plain Aviation, Inc dean@av8.com LAN/WAN/UNIX/NT/TCPIP http://www.av8.com ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++