On Tuesday, February 18, 1997 7:07 AM, Karl Denninger[SMTP:karl@Mcs.Net] wrote: @ > @ > > I think actually the question that Jim was asking is whether Paul filters @ > > access to the root name server he runs based on his Spam Blacklist. It @ > > seems to be a valid question. @ @ Paul wrote: @ @ > Yes, I do. I have no opinion on whether spammers should or should not be @ > able to reach any given root name server, including "mine", but for the time @ > being I lack the hardware needed to firewall f.root-servers.net differently @ > than I do the rest of my network. @ @ Uh, that is a serious issue. @ @ If you filter the root server that you run according to your "spam list", @ then you are not providing a public service on equal footing to all comers. @ @ I dislike spam and UCE as much as the next person, but I find this kind of @ policy statement and implementation abhorrent when you're talking about a @ *public* resource. @ @ If you wish to do that its fine with me, but then F.root-servers.net needs @ to be replaced by a machine which is not subject to these filters. @ @ Root servers aren't private things, expecially when you hold them out to the @ public... @ @ -- @ -- @ Karl Denninger (karl@MCS.Net)| MCSNet - The Finest Internet Connectivity @ http://www.mcs.net/~karl | T1's from $600 monthly to FULL DS-3 Service @ | 99 Analog numbers, 77 ISDN, Web servers $75/mo @ Voice: [+1 312 803-MCS1 x219]| Email to "info@mcs.net" WWW: http://www.mcs.net/ @ Fax: [+1 312 803-4929] | 2 FULL DS-3 Internet links; 400Mbps B/W Internal @ @ Karl, Your points about private and public Root Name Servers are important for people to understand, even if they do not know how DNS works. As confirmed on this NANOG mailing list, the North American operators follow the U.S. Government's lead and use the list of Root Name Servers prepared and published by the National Science Foundation and distributed by the NSF's InterNIC. In the past, the NSF relied on volunteers to provide Root Name Servers. This is rapidly changing and Network Solutions, Inc. and the IANA recently installed 4 new TRUE Root Name Servers. The IANA and NSI are of course controlled by the NSF and there is still one year left on the NSF/NSI contract. If private individuals are allowed to make decisions about who obtains services and who does not, then the U.S. Government is responsible for those decisions if the government has endorsed (or paid) those private individuals to be the decision makers. Several people have assured me that all of these problems are being solved. I suggest that we let the proper agencies solve the problems. -- Jim Fleming Unir Corporation e-mail: JimFleming@unety.net JimFleming@unety.s0.g0 (EDNS/IPv8)