On Sat, Mar 14, 2009 at 4:12 AM, Neil <kngspook@gmail.com> wrote:
On Wed, Mar 11, 2009 at 6:34 AM, Brett Charbeneau <brett@wrl.org> wrote:
......... As William pointed out, it's the things that follow that determine whether someone's being bad. To flag port-scans might be responsible, but I think pursuing legal action over it would be the exact opposite. Wait until someone demonstrates true maliciousness before trying to punish them, rather than bringing the heat merely because they've demonstrated the potential for maliciousness.
In the physical world, this is the equivalent of 'casing the joint'. In most parts of the world, you can now get stopped/interrogated for simply taking pictures of the wrong buildings. (Even ones that in the past might have been considered tourist attractions.) Whether you think this is a good/bad thing, you shouldn't be surprised that people are similarly concerned about such behavior in the virtual world.
This is almost akin to attacking someone because they're carrying a gun: sure, the gun gives them the potential to do bad things, but it often enough is innocent. (Political agendas aside...)
No, this is more like some unknown guy in a high-rise a mile a way pointing his laser sniper scope at people walking in the park. They don't KNOW that he has a rifle attached to that scope. Even if he does, they don't KNOW that he plans to use it. Most people will never notice that little red dot in the middle of their chest. If they do notice and report it, however, I can guarantee that a significant investigation will take place. Bill Bogstad