From: nobody@neva.org (Neva Remailer)
Date: Wed, 12 Nov 1997 21:32:36 +0800
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Subject: Re: Databasix conspiracy theories
Message-ID: <199711121324.HAA28802@dfw-ix10.ix.netcom.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain




-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

Anonymous <anon@anon.efga.org> wrote:
>My point being that a remailer operator has no way of knowing what
>the ultimate effect of *any* filtering/blocking will be. (Unless you
>read all of the email, like I do as the 'Bad Remailer' operator.)

If you are going to run a remailer, you had better expect that some of
the people who use it aren't going to be your friends.

>It has been my experience that the 'Fear of Spam/Abuse' is beginning
>to be the controlling factor in the usefulness, or lack thereof, of
>an increasing number of remailers.

And this has to be the lowest pressure attack on remailers that there
can be.  God forbid anybody should try for real to shut down the
remailer network.

This is understandable - running a remailer offers little tangible
reward.

On the other hand, if somebody were making $500,000 a year running a
remailer, they might defend it a little more vigorously.  And, if they
didn't, somebody in the Carribbean might be happy to snap up the
business.

>I cannot help but feel that there has to be some simple ways of
>addressing the spam/abuse issue without making the remailers a hit
>and miss proposition for the average computer user.

Here are two simple solutions: 1. charge hashcash 2. charge ecash.

This eliminates the spam problem.  It would probably reduce the
harrassment problem as well.

>e.g. - A stated policy of allowing only 'X' number of emails from the
>same address/ISP per day--UCE spammers *could* work around this, but
>they make money by speed and volume, not by farting around with
>this-and-that.

This is not a good idea.  I like being able to pump a few megabytes a
day through the remailer network to create cover traffic.  Right now
this would be an act of bad citizenship.

But, if we were paying for remailer usage it would be a good thing.
Good for me, good for the businesses I patronize.

Monty Cantsin
Editor in Chief
Smile Magazine
http://www.neoism.org/squares/smile_index.html
http://www.neoism.org/squares/cantsin_10.htm

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: 2.6.2

iQEVAwUBNGk5K5aWtjSmRH/5AQGFOgf9ELMabax8dmxbyV6DKfcLcr4U2MP/fS+E
xHPXpxbf05Tr36opYZCwhNDtZEcrzggaBTiJPSk2leOwz1RvancqnrwrArnh/90R
/EyikfLiwKgp7KRc4xVUAdYkqnJMYR+dz7K6DGfkLNgTKE3iExDJJcZcMgxn+VI9
2YbM6X8dtdBcMptC2CNxZC5FS2md+bCsyw2GP3bt25tTyuv786X4rVkD/MyH2w4l
JOk/WkjReler06OwHLWj0OMgypMPTdGjB8QMnkIxVinyd+E4+bJHh7UNdvf3GyF6
Did9Fj28aVmi8N1NTeW6GZQNoAMeE1QpCTW/+9fJRepy/LWy6QEE+g==
=PjCz
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----