This is disturbing news! I'm sorry for any spelling errors here. Please read on!
##### I responded:: #####
Brad,
# I included his initial message here
This is distressing to me. I don't run a remailer to abet infringers of copy (or other) rights. I certainly do not condone this action. Unfortunately, there is little I can do after the fact. My remailer is not the sort that requires a priori relationships. If a message has the right sort of header, the remailer sends it on its way ... no questions asked. I never see any mail that passes through my remailer. I keep no logs, the efficacy of which would be compromised in any case by remailer chaining or encryption. I can block remailing to or from any particular address, but my remailer is incapable of taking action based on content. I am sorry that I can neither tell you who it was, nor contact them ... not because I don't wish to, but because I am unable to.
Would this guy told Brad if he could? I'll newer use that remailer again!
I will happily assist you in any way that I am able. What follows is my public policy with respect to the remailer. It details my capabilities and attitude.
[....]
##### Brad Templeton wrote:: #####
I understand your policy, and I suspect that down the road that while anon remailers will continue to exist and serve a purpose, those that allow people to break laws behind them (defamation and copyright, and possibly kiddie-porn in particular) will have to shut down.
I think appinions change from here you live. I live kind of close up to Russia (Live in Norway). Norway is a sosialistic(?) country and we actually had the World War II here, so we have felt, and can see what the freedom of speach is. So Imagine that I am an Albanian citisen(?) and have some disturbing news about the Albanian goverment. I post this news to the world through this remailer. Wouldn't I be breaking a law by doing this? Yes, I would! Use your brains! Wouldn't this news be of importance for the world? And to you trigger-happy americans: What if the news about the invasion of Quwait came from Iraq trough an anon remailer? Wasn't that of "importance for the world"?? Or did you americans loose so many lives for nothing? The world is at war! And I would allow nearly any action to distribute information! Eaven if this means that sombody is using my remailer to break the law by distributing copyrighted information. [....]
I think the right answer is a remailer that logs, allows replies (like the finet one) and which opens up in the case of illegal postings, or any other postings that don't follow its rules. It might say that it demands a warrant, for example.
Ok, if the police come and wake my up an morning with an warrant, they might still need me to get the information they are looking for. (I like encryption!) If the warrant was about kiddy-porn I might give the police what they wanted, but not before I saw the warrant! If they wanted some politicaly mail from Russia/Albania I would rather low-level formated my harddisk! This Brad-person didn't bring a warrant! So I would have told him to put his nose somhere else! Sorry but my world is black an white (At least a norwegian saying!) Look at the Subject again. "my remailer taking some (mild) heat" If you dont know how to handle the mild heat, how would you handle the glowing heat? I'm sorry if this was a little to hard on some of you, but this is my appinion. Regards, Halvor Kise jr. (which is putting an remailer up soon) -- * MEMENTO MORI * _____________________________________________________ | Halvor Kise jr. * halvork@sofus.dhhalden.no | | * halvork@gyda.dhhalden.no | | Ostfold * halvork@frodo.dhhalden.no | | Regional College * Student at | | N-1757 Halden * Computer Science | | * | | | | Finger halvork@sofus for PGP-key | -----------------------------------------------------