On Jan 22, Eric Hughes wrote:

Tim mentioned that he'd had some problems getting stuff back from the list. Others have sent me mail wondering about strange formats from the mailer. Well, toad got mailbombed.

The culprit--and no attempt at anonymity here--was 'css@netcom.com'.

So far you're right on...no attempt at anonymity. I have never felt the need to cower behind anonymity. I take responsibility my actions, right or wrong.

He was trying to get off the list by sending to owner-cypherpunks@toad.com.

You're batting 1000!

Well that address is a bounce handling address, and I don't read it very often, and then I ignore non-computer generated messages. Two words: clueless and projecting.

He made at least three separate kinds off attacks: sending mail back to posters to the list, sending mail back to the list at large, and mailbombing toad with UNSUBSCRIBE x 200 messages, many (several dozen) at a time.

Okay, you're starting to veer away from reality a bit here. Yes, I did all those things. But it was not an 'attack'. I started out sending unsubscribe requests to *both* owner-cypherpunks and cypherpunks, every few days. Those were the only addresses I had. I was last week receiving 50 messages a day. I accidentally deleted some of my real mail going through and deleting all yours. As I have said many, many times, I thought I was subscribing to a periodic newsletter. There was no warning that I would receive 50 messages a day, and apparently no mechanism for gettin of the list once I was on. I simply made ever more vehement requests to be removed from your list. As each one was ignored, I stepped up the volume of my requests. After about 10 days of no response (short of some foul-languaged vicious flames from your readers furious because I bounced one or two of their letters - but they couldn't understand why I was unhappy about receiving 50 unwanted letters a day). What you call a 'mailbomb' was the only action out of everything I tried which actually got some response. Let's stay clear on this: all I ever wanted, and all I want now, is TO BE REMOVED FROM THIS LIST. I am still receiving messages even though the administrator told me after the 'mailbomb' that he had removed me from the list.

What is humorous to me is not the lost sysadmin time (hours) but the

Why would that be humorous?

lack of sophistication in the attack. No attempt at hiding identity, lack of creativity in bomb content, lack of specificity in targeting.

I don't hide. In fact, hiding would have undermined my purpose. I was trying to draw attention to my ignored requests to be removed from your list--that's all. No secret spy-novel conspiracy stuff here. Stay clear on this: I have no desire whatsoever to waste your time or undermine your ability to have your forum. I simply demand to be excluded. You seem to be framing this as some sort of terrorist action. Once again, I was just trying to get some response to my ignored requests. By the way, I sent a warning out several days before the 'attack' stating that if I did not get removed, I would try to shut down your remailer. That got no response. And, in all my protests before the 'attack', I got many flames from you people but nobody told me how I could GET OFF THE LIST.

For example, he could have forged a post to one of the .test groups in usenet with the list administrator (me) as target. Hundreds of messages would have flowed in to my mailbox over the next week, cramping my ability to use my inbox. Such a forgery could be done, say, by using an anonymous poster and gluing in a Reply-To: field.

Or even better might have been picking a large mailing list that doesn't rewrite header fields and making sure that it leaves the mailer with 17 Received: fields and an Errors-To: field pointing to the victim. The cypherpunks alias on toad, for example, tacks on 3 Received fields in addition to the one or two that your mailer uses, but you can just add empty Received: fields--the code that bounces mail when it sees more than 17 (or 18-21, depending) Received: fields doesn't look at their contents. These fields can be added with outgoing ## header pasting, for example. I do not recommend using the cypherpunks mailing list for this purpose, however.

Eric

Now you've really lost me. Presumably, you did not like the fact that I shut down your remailer. But the very next day you send me a step-by-step guide on how to do it more effectively and with anonymity. Go figure. Oh, I think I understand now. You're trying to give people ideas about how to bomb me, right? Trying to start a war?? Am I mistaken in sensing, Eric, that you are enjoying this? Well, I am not. Why don't you just do the reasonable, mature thing and just allow me to be excluded from your forum. Again, again, again: I have no desire to sit around trying figure out ways to cause you trouble. All I want is one thing. Can you guess what that is? I thought you could. I don't want anonymity. My name is Chris Schefler. I WANT OFF YOUR LIST. If you do not take me off, I will take appropriate measures again. Perhaps I will take some of your suggestions. As I said, I am still receiving your messages. Eric - what is the problem. What don't you understand about this: TAKE ME OFF YOUR LIST. NOW. Get on with your life, please, without me!