From: Robert Hettinga <rah@shipwright.com>
Date: Tue, 6 Jan 1998 06:19:58 +0800
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Subject: Re: Anonymous Remailers
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Date: Sun, 4 Jan 1998 23:14:19 -0800
From: Chuq Von Rospach <chuqui@plaidworks.com>
Subject: Re: Anonymous Remailers
To: "ListMom-Talk Discussion List" <ListMom-Talk@SkyList.Net>
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At 8:10 PM -0800 1/4/98, Eric Mings wrote:
> I noticed on Apple's info about acceptable behavior on their lists, that
> they ban postings which originate from anonymous remailers (of which they
> include juno). I was wondering what experience people have had regarding
> abusive posts from such systems, and how one easily identifies them if
> you choose to ban postings originating from such systems. Thanks.

That's me.

I decided to stop accepting posts from anonymous remailers way back,
when anon.penet.fi was still alive. Some of that is philosophy, some of
that was problems.

As far as problems, it's the normal stuff -- personal attacks,
mailbombing through anonymous remailers, copyright/slander/libel
issues, all the normal fun and games. Since you can't track users back,
you have real problems policing them. And since anonymous remailers
tend to allow multiple (heading towards infinite) remailing addresses,
the practical issue of how to lock out an abusive user becomes severe.
That's why Juno is bounced -- you can create accounts and then use them
instantly, with no policing and no tracking. I had a problem a while
back with an idiot who did, abusively. After about four rounds of
trying to get him to go away, I did it the hard way, with a virtual
neutron bomb.

Juno's no help. In THAT case, I got email from them six weeks later
apologizing for being so delayed in responding to my requests for help.
they didn't offer to help, they just apologized for not telling me they
wouldn't for so long. And that's been typical of my dealing with them.
They don't police. They don't care. Their systems are set up so that
basically, they *can't* police things.

So I just don't even get into it. Since I can't police their users, I
police their site. Effectively, they are an anonymous remailer. God
knows enough folks use them as one.


--
         Chuq Von Rospach (chuq@apple.com) Apple IS&T Mail List Gnome
                 <http://www.solutions.apple.com/ListAdmin/>

 Plaidworks Consulting (chuqui@plaidworks.com) <http://www.plaidworks.com/>
   (<http://www.plaidworks.com/hockey/> +-+ The home for Hockey on the net)

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-----------------
Robert Hettinga (rah@shipwright.com), Philodox
e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
The e$ Home Page: http://www.shipwright.com/
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