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Good for you. I suggest that you get your ass out of there in a big hurry, before you land behind bars. Accepting or receiving no money is no excuse for criminal activity, however good intentioned.

Now, on to your posting.

You are quite confused as to the purpose of the RBL.

Maybe I am, maybe I'm not. But your intentions are hardly the issue. As I'm sure you have heard "The road to hell is paved by..."

The RBL lists sites that are known to generate spam, and are indifferent to its effect on the rest of the internet community.

As I point out in my column, you also punish those who, through no fault of their own, have become targets for relay-spammers. Minnesota OnLine is the victim of such scoundrels working out of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Each ISP/NSP can subscribe to the RBL.

Like I said. Just like the "protection racket."

When they do, and automated feed is set up such that the master list of IP addresses is maintained on the main MAPS system. This is distributed to each of the subscribers of the RBL is a Real-time way (hence the name Realtime Blackhole List).

Yeah, right! Where I come from "real time" is defined as instantaneous. My email from Vivian Rose has been blocked by more than a week, despite diligent attempts by state.net to get it unblocked.

This means that a site can be removed from the RBL, literally seconds after the site being blocked advises us that they have corrected the problem.

A nice theory...

To all sites, all over the world.

The MAPS project is comprised of some of the people that have developed what you know as the Internet.

Listen, punk. I was on what YOU call the Internet in 1969, when it was still ARPANET, probably before you were a glimmer in your daddy's eye. I am well aware of both its history and development. Don't patronize me!

We wrote some of the standards. We build some of the hardware that makes it work. We build some of the infrastructure, the long haul links. We write some of the applications that allow the core of the internet to function. We've been here a long time.

Oh, dear, I'm so impressed. So you think that gives you a license for vigilante "justice"? Perhaps some time behind bars IS warranted here!

When a site is indentified as a known spam domain, we contact the upstream providers. When we are sure they are aware of the problem, and either have not, or can not terminate the spamming customers, we will recommend that the IP address be listed on the RBL. Paul Vixie will review that recommendation, and either add it or not.

Well I hope it feeds his ego to be in such a position of power. He will need it when the piper must be paid. Sort of like Don Corleone, say what, but without the "button men?"

There is no appeal process - if he decides not to add it, it does not get added. No site is added without a verifiable spam coming from, or advertising, that site's services.

I have already informed you quite clearly who you are vicitimizing and it isn't the spammers. If this is too hard for you to comprehend, perhaps you can find a home in the former Soviet Union where niceties like constituional government and freedom of speech aren't of much importance.

When a site is identified as a known spam relay, we first contact the authoritative contacts for that site, advise what happened, and recommend that they visit http://maps.vix.com/tsi for more information. We also offer our assistance in reconfiguration. Many sites at this time re-configure their software (with, or without our help). All of our help is offered for no charge. For sites that need additional help, we have a list of consultants that we use - none of which are involved in the RBL, nor do we receive compensation in any form from them. All are resonably priced, and usually charge between $50 and $100 to help secure sites. Again, this payment is negotiated between the consultant and the company - we do not see any of it.

Gosh, I guess an UNPAID lynch mob is OK, huh? Geez, you guys are really, really dumb if you think you can hide behind such silly rationalizations. Have you ever read our constitution? Especially pay attention to the part about interstate commerce next time you take a look, not to mention the first amendment.

If, after a few weeks, the site is still open to relay, we contact them again, advising them that they are being put on the RBL, and reminding them why. Again, we offer our assistance, and include pointers to more information.

That's what the Mob does too. "Mr. Storeowner. We are sincerely concerned that you have been repeatedly vandalized by thugs and miscreants. May we be of assistance in helping you deal with this problem? You will find our rates are very reasonable, especially compared to the cost of fixing the damage these nasty people have done to you."

Several days after this email goes out, the site is listed on the RBL. It is at this point that I generally get a phone call from the listed site. I explain to them why they were listed on the RBL, and how they can get off. Often, the site that calls me has 'just' taken measures to stop relaying, and I can take them off the RBL in real time. It usually takes less than 30 seconds, to take them off world wide.

Then, how come my email from the Teen Movie Critic is still blocked after eight DAYS! Oops! Perhaps we did not cooperate fully with the "authorities" or invest in the proper insurance policy.

Note well that the RBL does not concern itself with the domain name, nor the contents of messages. It does not care if you are sending pornography, or grandma's cookie recipe. A site is listed on the RBL only because it has participated in spam, and has refused to take action. An ISP denies access to a site on the RBL only because it has *voluntarily* decided to accept the RBL feed. There are no other cases.

I have read your excuses quite thoroughly. In a word, they are BULLSHIT. You are engaged in a criminal activity. Since you seem to think that it is a grand and glorious project, with nothing but "voluntary" participants, it appears that you will have to learn the hard way. By the way, when did Vivian Rose or I volunteer to be included in your scheme? I bet you can not find our names on any list.

In your site, you allude to anti-spam software costing upwards of $20,000. To the best of my knowledge, the most expensive anti-relay software is the Microsoft and post.office are the most expensive upgrades, and they range in price from free to less than $1000, depending on when you purchased the original versions. Most, if not all, UNIX version upgrades are free. Most other upgrades are also free. The MAPS project does not receive any compensation, of any form, from any vendor of email products.

Again, in your site, you suggest that one should "FOLLOW THE MONEY.". Ok. It costs me around $1500 to $2000 per month to volunteer my time to the RBL. That money goes to infrastructure hardware and links that I provide (free of charge) to the RBL and subscribers, and to my phone bill, as I tend to call a lot of people each month on behalf of the RBL. It does not include my time. People that merely subscribe to the RBL pay nothing. Paul does not receive compensation in any form for running the RBL.

You are truly dumber than you seemed at first glance. I hate to be so repetitive, but ignorance of the law is no excuse. Nor is volunteering to break it. How does one lure "innocents" like you into schemes like this? Do you truly believe that spam is such a bad problem that it requires vigilante justice, not to mention your time and effort? Why don't you lobby for equal rights for women and minorities or agitate against war or something worthwhile?

Lest you think that we are getting cash indirectly... both Paul and I also write freely available software, and have for years. I also provided the network design for 24 of the schools in my area, and have provided free internet access to them for over 2 years (and will continue to provide access to them for the forseeable future, for free). I also provide free internet service to the entire Santa Clara county school system, through my NSP business.

That is really, really nice (and I mean that sincerely), but irrelevant in the extreme. I guess living in California just addles the mind somehow. (Sorry about that cheap shot, but I sometimes think that Californicators don't understand that there is a world outside the Sunshine State.)

All the volunteers for the MAPS project have suffient funding that we do not need revenue from it, which is why it is offered as a no-cost service. Paul has been part of the core of the Internet for many years, and his opinion is trusted by all network operators. His software, and contributions to the Domain Name System (among others), have earned him that respect.

He will get my respect when he shows some understanding of law and justice in addition to his obvious technical skills. Did all you people inherit a lot of money, or what? How can you afford this crazy nonsense otherwise? (Note, that I am finally accepting your protestations of "good intentions" at face value.)

There is no hidden agenda here. We want spam to stop, and have commited our combined resources into supporting the MAPS project. That's it.

Gosh, Dave, I want discrimination to stop. I want war to stop. Maybe it would be just peachy for me to make up a list of people I believe are discriminating or starting wars and advocate that they be stopped, at whatever cost to whomever. Kill 'em, maim 'em or just fuck with their business. Whatever it takes! ("Gee, Ma'am, I'm sorry your child was killed by the crossfire in our little war against evil. You have to understand, we have VERY good intentions.")

No, I think I'll just stick to what I am doing. Writing deathless prose and sticking it on the Internet advising people to watch out for those, like you, who would save them from themselves. I call you guys CEBBTOs, which stands for people who would Control Everybody's Behavior But Their Own. This shoe fits you nicely. It is difficult to believe that even youngsters would be so stupid, but I guess I have to accept it and move on. The next word you hear on the subject will probably come from the Interstate Commerce Commission...or maybe the FBI.

Good luck, Puta.

Disgustipated,
Willy Chaplin

...the best independent ISP in the Twin Cities

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